


The Apoptosis Project

by GreysonSkye



Category: RWBY
Genre: Androids, Biopunk, Cyberpunk, Existentialism, Future Fic, Futurism, Gen, Intentionally Overpowered OC I swear, Mental Illness, Original Characters - Freeform, Psychology, RWBY OC - Freeform, Science Fiction, Two Protagonists, mental health
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22440334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreysonSkye/pseuds/GreysonSkye
Summary: Twenty-five years after Salem's defeat, twins Caspian and Lazula Skye are finally of age to attend their father's academy; just in time for the Creatures of Grimm to return. While fighting the terrors alongside Frontline Biomedical's controversial Organic Androids and investigating the origin of their revival, they begin to unravel a web of secrets ensnaring more than they could have ever known.





	1. Darkness Returns

**Okay, so before this story starts, I need to get a few things out of the way. Unprofessional to start a story with a giant author's note, I know. Anyway, this is an OC story, and while it is a sequel to my previous OC series GRAE/Twilight Crusade (which is on Fanfiction, I started to post it here too but I'll be honest. I got lazy.), I made sure it's independent of the older story. You can definitely catch up with my older series between uploads, but, and I _cannot_ stress this enough, you can read this story without reading the other at all. I've evolved a TON as a writer, especially since the early days of my older series. So if you read it and aren't a fan, you may still like this one!**

**Also, this story assumes Salem was defeated and the Grimm disappeared, but doesn't work with** _**much** _ **of the gods/Salem/Ozma/Magic lore from Volume 6 onward. I know the future shown in my story will be far different from the actual post-RWBY future, but I couldn't wait to get my story out there.**

**Without further ado, let's begin. (Art below is by Stygmatus on Tumblr)**

****

* * *

On a clear night, sailors off Vale's coast swore they could see the lights of Port Cyrreine from fifty miles away. A myriad of glimmering spires rose into the night sky. The rainbow of hues, from thousands of windows and holographic ads within the maze of skyscrapers, reflected in countless ripples upon the placid black waters off the city's Southern shore. In front of the wall of light, a lively boardwalk; the vendors stands, restaurants, and crowds of people barely visible in the shadow of a ferris wheel lit bright blue for the night. From a distance, a muffled chorus of sirens could be heard.

Two airships jetted toward the city, the air in their wake tearing the water's surface.

"Reports on the ground indicate an attack by the Creatures of Grimm," a man's voice scratched through the radio. "I repeat, eyewitnesses are reporting an attack by the Creatures of Grimm!"

"Grimm?!" Another voice repeated. "No way in hell, those things have been gone for, what? Thirty years now? You sure it's not Sentinel's animatronics?"

"We've established contact with Headmaster Skye of Sentinel. He was at the academy's practice grounds when the incident began, and has confirmed all animatronics are in place," a woman reported.

"What do we know about the incident so far, then?"

"Just under a hundred port workers were laid off, and replaced with a couple dozen of Frontline's organic androids. A peaceful protest turned violent when the Red Claw showed up. Right after that is when reports of Grimm started coming in," the woman replied.

"Griswold Baine has sent his son and a team of organds to help sort things out on the ground over there. ETA: less than five minutes," the man on the radio concluded.

The two airships landed on a flat slab of concrete near the docks, lit by the shipyard cranes above. The door to one lifted to reveal a golden-haired warrior. His armor, fixed over a jet black bodysuit, was dozens of silvery white plates covering chest, shoulders, waist, hips, and legs; the edge of each plate gilded with a shining trim. His eyes were obscured by a knight-like visor, with a single light blue band to ensure vision. Behind him, a score of armored huntsmen.

"There have been reports of deaths in the area," the man assessed. "All of you. Secure the entrances to each building. Search for survivors, and ensure their safety!"

"Yes, sir!" the huntsmen shouted in unison. They began to pour out onto the streets, save three.

"Desmond, Lavender, Nikole! You three are with me!"

"Yes, sir!" a broad-shouldered man, and two women confirmed.

The street before the huntsmen was a hellscape, far from the peaceful mundanity typical of the city's port district. To each side of the street, flames leapt from shattered windows, dumpsters, and the hollowed-out remains of cars and shipping equipment. Smoke poured into the alleyways, shading the entire area an eerie shade of orange.

The golden-haired warrior held his wrist out in front of him, projecting a holographic screen from his Holoband, a watch-like strap around his wrist. With two fingers, he zoomed in on a map of the area. A yellow marker indicated his position on the water's edge. Several blocks away, a zone was highlighted a bright red.

"Looks like the Red Claw's taken control of a warehouse two blocks Northwest. Our mission is to clear them out, and secure the area. _Move out!_ "

"Midas! Look!" One of the huntsman's allies interjected, pointing ahead.

He raised his head. Through the smoke, he could make out several black forms. Though on all fours, they stood nearly his height. Their claws scratched viciously at the pavement as they charged forward, their hungry snarls audible above the breaking of glass and crackling of flame.

" _Beowolves_."

Without a second's hesitation, Midas charged forward with Desmond, Lavender, and Nikole in tow. From his back he pulled a beautiful halberd, taller than he and crafted from the same steel as his armor. He plunged the tip of his weapon into the open jaws of the first beast, and flipped through the air. He flung the unfortunate Grimm backward into a shield bash from Desmond, and brought the axe's head down on the next beast as he landed. A pair of swift spins despatched two more Grimm before he ducked, deflecting the swipe of another across the shaft of his weapon. Lavender, his teammate in purple, pounced with a pair of bladed tonfas.

The four continued on, clearing out a handful more Grimm on the way to the warehouse. As Midas approached a corner, he held an arm out, indicating his teammates to stop. "The Red Claw's stronghold is just ahead. Post up here, and defend my flank from Grimm. I'll be fine alone."

The three filled into the street; Desmond in front, posted with his shield. Nikole and Lavender to his sides. Midas stepped forward. The smoke and uncanny glow of the main street grew more intense as he pressed on. From the fog came the scratching of countless feet, their claws impaling concrete with each heavy step.

A stark white pincer, as big as Midas himself, burst from the smoke. He held his weapon up to block the attack, but was forced backward by the power behind the strike. Another pincer attack was met with his weapon's axehead, and forced into the ground. Two lines of beady red eyes glowed behind the pair of claws, and the creature scuttled into view. Its body was the length of a school bus, low to the ground and clad in bony spines for armor. The scorpion's tail curled over its body, ending in a malicious golden stinger.

The deathstalker screamed with rage. Midas spun with the momentum of another blocked claw swipe, and thrust the tip of his halberd into the stinger as it bore down on him. He gripped his weapon's handle as the beast hoisted him into the air.

He cracked a grin as the tip of his halberd unfolded, freeing him from the monster. His weapon's shaft folded backward, until it had transformed into a bow. Still in mid-air, he pulled back on the string of hard-light dust. The vibrant arcs of electricity crackling around his body became one with the bolt of focused energy forming at his weapon, and he let fly.

The deathstalker halted in sudden stiffness as the bolt shattered the armor at the back of its head, a shockwave rippling through the smoke. The beast's tail uncurled and slammed to the ground next to the huntsman as he landed. It began to dissolve into the night.

The huntsman paused, eyes fixed ahead. He had only taken two labored breaths before two men leapt into view, blades prepared to kill. He swore, and electricity coarsed its way through his halberd just before he raised it to block a vicious overhead axe swing. Static worked its way down his enemy's weapon. The faunus seized up, and Midas freed his weapon. Aura crackled around the assailant's gut as the tip of Midas's spear was thrust forward. Midas set his feet, once again transforming his weapon back into a bow. He let fly on his second enemy with a point-blank jolt of dust.

The smoke began to clear.

Two dozen feet ahead, a truck had been tipped onto its side, blocking most of the lane. On the edge of the cab sat a bald-headed woman, clad in leather robes of black and white. As her eyes met his visor, a broad, serpentine tail pulled up from behind her, and settled in her lap.

"Red Claw commander!" Midas called. "Who are you working for? He's here, isn't he?!"

"And why would I tell you, prettyboy?" the commander mocked, her tail lashing once. "Although, by the way you asked that, you already know the answer."

* * *

A young woman's voice faded in and out. She seemed to want something.

The morning light pouring in the window was far too bright. The plush bedcovers weighed the boy's body down, sinking him deeper into his mattress. He groaned, and rolled over.

"Come on, get up. My breakfast is getting cold."

"Go away, Lazula," the boy mumbled, feebly shooing her away. He gathered his pillow in front of his eyes.

"Lilly's gonna be there..." the young woman teased, her voice softening. "Sleep much longer, and you won't be able to shower."

Lilly. _Lilliane Corvis-Braun_. The very image of beauty, kindness, and feminine grace, in the boy's eyes. Sure, they had been friends for the longest time. She _probably_ wouldn't judge him for one morning of disheveled hair. But still. He couldn't stand the thought of questionable hygiene on a day he would see her. He worked his way upright, shivering as the blankets fell to his waist. He turned to look at his sister with an exaggerated look of bitterness.

Though the two were twins, the young man and Lazula bore little resemblance. Lazula had inherited her father's strong chin; dark, full brows; and long, straight nose. Her eye color was difficult to discern. Though mostly a green-heavy hazel, transient flecks of nearly every color seemed to come and go, by lighting and by the minute. Her hair, a vivid electric blue, was swept to one side in front, tied into a messy low bun in back. Rebellious strands of hair fell to each side of her face, the biggest running down the bridge of her nose. Caspian guessed she had snuck in some early-morning training.

Between the young man's soft, kind-looking face, large round eyes of a vivid blue, and button nose, he was quite obviously his mother's child. His hair was coarse yet voluminous, falling in fluffy layers to eyebrow level in front, and chin level in back. His deep blue roots were visible at the crown of his head, but faded to silver further away.

"Good morning, Caspian. You slept for seven hours and thirty-seven minutes," the automated voice of a woman reported from the headboard. "Would you like to see this morning's top news stories?"

"Yes," Lazula cut in. She nudged her brother as he began to doze off again.

A holographic screen flashed up across the foot of the bed, displaying an aerial view of a street near the docks. Between the stacks of shipping containers and open flames, three beowolves and a hulking, ursine form ran. "Darkness returns: eight are confirmed dead and fourteen have been wounded in a Port Cyrreine Grimm attack overnight. Authorities confirm this is the first Grimm attack in twenty-five years," the voice stated. "Vytal Tournament champion Midas Baine was dispatched to the scene with his team and several organic androids, but was ultimately unsuccessful in apprehending the woman believed to be behind the attack."

"Jeez... Looks like Ichigo was right," Caspian said, putting on the round lens, wire-framed glasses that rested against his bedside lamp. "He told me Grimm attacked, and I... well, was I supposed to just believe it?"

Lazula sighed. "Looks like this huntsman education will do us some good after all." She stood, and walked to the door of Caspian's room. She rested one hand on the doorknob and turned around. "We have to pass the entrance exam first. You should start getting ready."

"Of course _you'll_ pass..." Caspian muttered, watching Lazula leave. He switched off the holographic screen, which had changed stories to show a bald, bearded man in a tailored suit giving a speech. After grabbing a bite to eat, throwing a few last-minute items into his suitcase, and grabbing his pre-planned outfit of a blue knit sweater and khakis, he made his way to the shower.

The water scalded his back, but he paid no mind as it drained between his feet. " _Today is the day,_ " he thought. He took a deep breath. The final entrance examination. His written scores, apparently, had been on par with the top percentage of Sentinel applicants. He scraped by the physical tests, but today...

Every time he thought about it, it made him feel a little sick.

Caspian turned off the water. One typical morning routine later, and he opened the door, giving himself one last look in the mirror. Yet as he turned to the doorway, he started.

His eyes locked with a colorless stare. Not silver, not even a light blue. Her irises were entirely devoid of color. Her matching hair was styled neatly, bangs sweeping across her forehead and tucking under the locks that framed her doll-like face. Her hair in back tapered to a single point at the nape of her neck.

"Oh! Snow. Thank you, for the jumpscare," Caspian said, grinning with embarrassment and holding a hand over his chest.

Though Caspian's heart was one beat from leaping out of his throat, the girl was entirely unperturbed. Her gaze followed him. "Your mother told me to tell you she would like to leave in twenty minutes." Her eyes cast downward, looking to the holoscreen she projected from the band at her wrist. "This was two minutes ago. Will you be ready in eighteen minutes?"

"Eighteen?" Caspian repeated. He pursed his lips, and grabbed several items from the bathroom counter. "I guess I'll have to be. Oh, if you're here, is Uncle Doug around?" he guessed.

"He's working this morning. He said he will try to attend the Final Examination," Snow said. Her voice was soft, hardly ever carrying much more strength than a whisper. Words followed each other in disengaged monotony.

She turned, beginning to walk down the hall. Caspian admired her combat outfit, which she had already changed into. A snow white vest made of neoprene met her skirt at belt level, on which she holstered the handle of her weapon. The skirt was patterned into the interweaving fractal arms of a snowflake, layers underneath, visible in the gaps between the snowflake's arms, a shade of light blue. She wore a collared shirt of the same shade beneath her vest, the tight sleeves coming down to her wrists. Black socks were the only hint of darkness to her outfit, starting at her knee and feeding into her glossy white boots.

The hum of the airship's engines was all Caspian heard. It was the perfect background noise for his thoughts, all blending together into one monotonous drone. Snow sat beside him, her vacant gaze matching Caspian's out the window. Lazula sat a few rows behind the pair, watching a video from her last tournament, playing and replaying to study each of her moves meticulously.

The city of Port Cyrreine was founded on two peninsulas, jutting out into the ocean like a massive pair of jaws. The Southern peninsula, further from the airship window, held the city's downtown. Closer to the mainland, the skyscrapers tapered off into a maze of dingy mid-rise buildings, and area of town Caspian intended to avoid.

Toward the peninsula's tip, a magnificent structure of glass and steel. The apexes of two black towers, one just half the height of the taller, skewered the sky. A golden ring circled the neck of the giant, holding an airship platform several hundred feet above the ground below. A shell of smooth, silvery-white encased the Northern side of the structure, which loomed above the mouth of the bay. Etched upon it in black was "Frontline Biomedical."

Snow's eyes seemed intent on the building.

The Northern peninsula; the tract of land the airship carrying Caspian, Lazula, and Snow, descended over; was almost entirely residential. Frontline's main hospital sat on the tip, directly North of corporate headquarters.

"Perks of being the Headmaster's kids," Caspian noted, sticking a finger to the window and peering down. "We don't have to sit in _that._ "

Lazula appeared, leaning over Caspian's seat and looking to the city below. Seacrest Bridge, the lone road between the two halves of Port Cyrreine, was packed bumper to bumper.

"Lilly's there, she said she's with Rowan and Ichigo," Lazula said. "Laurel's on her way, but the traffic doesn't look bad from the North. Still, I don't envy whoever's stuck in that mess."

A few minutes passed, and Caspian looked away from the window and into his lap as the airship slowed to a stall. He felt it begin to descend upon a mile-wide cape that stuck into the bay from the city's Northern half.

The campus of Sentinel Academy.


	2. The Indomitable Girl

Caspian watched the wide, flat, wings of the Ray-Class airship rise higher into the cloudy sky. It paused for a second before its jets burst with a sudden pulse of energy, and it began to soar away. Caspian knew he had come too far to back out. Considering he would have to face his friends and family, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Yet, he tugged at his sleeve as he watched the ship depart over the bay, wishing he was still on board.

"Headmistress Skye," a man in a reflective jacket acknowledged.

The woman who had accompanied the three, dressed in fitted blue dress and black blazer, nodded back. Her light, honey blonde hair was tied back, a single sweeping bang at one side of her face. She looked to the man with sapphire eyes. "Thanks for getting us to the ground safely," she recognized. The look on her face shifted as she turned to the three teenagers to her side. "We're a bit late, and I have preparations to work out with your father. But... you know what happened last night. I remember a world with grimm. Things are going to get unpredictable, and... dangerous. I need to know you three understand."

"I think we'll be alright," Caspian mustered.

"We'll be fine, mom. _Really,_ " Lazula assured.

Snow nodded once. "I understand."

"Good," Mrs. Skye responded. "I'm sure you three will do great today. Be safe, and keep an eye on Snow. I love you!"

"' _Keep an eye'_ on Snow?" Caspian repeated, once the three had traveled a safe distance into the shadow of Sentinel Stadium. "She's seventeen, and entirely capable of keeping an eye on herself."

"You two will be fine without me, then?" Lazula asked.

"W-Without you?" Caspian responded, gaze flicking to the swirling torrent of a crowd, coming and going around the trio.

"We're late, and I need to get ready. I don't have time to meet with everyone else." Without another word, Lazula began to carve her way through the crowd, toward the locker rooms.

By the time Caspian made it to the Student Fitness Center, the gym just North of the Stadium, the three he had planned to meet were already outside in their combat gear. A brown hand pushed up a pair of glasses, and a boy slouched over his laptop looked up to meet Caspian's eyes. He wore a fitted black and white jersey, accents of magenta swirling around each other until they met at the symbol on his chest: a computer's power symbol stretched at the bottom to resemble a strawberry. A simple pair of black pants completed the look. His hair rose about a quarter inch off the top of his head. Short, curly, and bright pink.

A second boy leaned against a pillar nearby; a huge, one-sided broadsword propped up next to him. His crimson hair was slicked back from his forehead, then fell over itself to one side. He was tall and lanky, dressed in a red, sleeveless hoodie, a white stripe and a black one making a "V" at chest level. Two armored plates were strapped haphazardly over his black, capri-length joggers, with a matching pair of shin guards. A scruff of hair traced its way along his jaw and onto his chin, and his eyes held a permanently relaxed, almost lazy look to them.

The last of the three, a notably short young woman with snow white hair pulled into a feathered ponytail, stood in the middle. She wore a combat skirt, mostly white apart from the fringe, laces across her stomach, and numerous bows; which all shared the warm, chocolate brown of her eyes and matched her knee-high, worn-looking boots. The alabaster skin of her somewhat rounded face was impeccably clear, a slight blush rising in her cheeks.

Caspian fixed his hair and evened his collar as he approached.

"Hey, Cas is finally here!" The boy in red welcomed, peeling himself from the wall to give him a handshake and a pat on the back.

"And Snow!" The girl with the feathered hair added in a soft voice. She reached her arms out for a hug. Snow paused for a second, examining the gesture blankly. Then, she raised her arms to meet the girl.

The boy in red looked to Snow, then back to Caspian. "Your sister too cool for us, or what?"

"Basically," Caspian responded with a chuckle. "Said she didn't have time to meet up with everyone first. Not even Lilly, and those two have been inseparable since they were like four."

"The exam starts in an hour and a half," the lanky boy remarked, projecting the time from his Holoband. "She's just too cool for us, I guess! What I wanna know is where Laurel is. Seeing her will give me the strength to get through this test."

"Rowan, cut it out," Lilly gently objected. She turned. "And Ichigo. Have you realized your friends are here?"

"I saw them before the rest of you noticed, but we get to see them all the time," Ichigo responded casually. His eyes flicked back to the screen. "What you don't see all the time anymore is a deadly grimm attack. I'm trying to get into the database for Port Cyrreine's police department. I'd bet they're hiding some juicy details from the news stations."

"On school internet, dude?" Rowan objected.

"Not exactly. They can't find me."

"Whatever the case, I certainly hope deadly grimm attacks don't become the norm again..." Lilly commented solemnly. She folded her hands together. "It's already both tragic and scary, but it happened only a couple of miles from here."

"I've got a bad feeling this won't be the only one..." Caspian replied. He sighed, and pointed to the entrance of the SFC. "Anyway, I'll try to make it quick. Snow, are you gonna stay with them?"

"Yes, I'll stay."

If it weren't for the storm of Sentinel applicants descending on the locker room in semi-controlled chaos, Caspian knew he would have been lost in the SFC. It was a huge, multi-floor building with lockers, a weightlifting gym, and a pool in the basement; workout equipment and a couple of small indoor courts on the ground floor. Caspian noticed stairs leading up, but they were blocked off. The directory noted four floors.

Caspian settled in the quietest corner of the locker room, but there were still a few others nearby. He looked at one young man, halfway in his combat uniform. Broad-shouldered and brawny, a head taller than Caspian, and nearly twice as wide.

Exactly what he expected of his competition.

He sighed, and wriggled his way out of his sweater. A few minutes later, and he was adjusting the final straps on his silver greaves. He strode over to the mirror to ensure his outfit was complete. He was particularly proud of his overcoat. It was perfectly tailored to his body, dark greyish-blue with two silver rings on each sleeve, and a silver trim separating chest and torso from black shoulderpads: flexible, but sturdy. Underneath, a black chestplate was decorated by cobalt blue steel in the shape of an anchor. The coat came down to his mid-thigh, partly covering the tight black pants he wore.

Caspian turned halfway, then back the other way. The blue of his eyes flashed across the glass, and he met his reflection's gaze. He took a deep breath.

Lazula cut through the crowd clutching her blue and gold duffle bag. The slack jaws and star-struck stares of those who separated before her were nothing unusual. Her eyes remained fixed dead ahead. Still, their whispers. As grating as usual.

"I-Is that..."

"That's her!"

"She hasn't lost. Not once!"

"Did you know she has a twin brother?"

"Wait, _really?_ "

"Stop staring, you're being too obvious!"

" _That's enough of that_ ," Lazula thought.

Her eyes narrowed, finally faltering to look down at her bag. She slipped a pair of headphones on, and drowned out their voices. She continued into the fitness center and into the locker rooms, plopping her bag down on the bench. Her fingers began to work at the drawstring of her joggers, but paused. She looked to the end of the row, where two girls peered around the corner, making little attempt at secrecy. " _Really?"_ Lazula thought. " _I can't even change in peace."_

She slid her headphones to her shoulders.

"Will you stop staring? I'd like to change."

Changing in and out of her combat attire was a lengthy process Lazula had grown used to. Though she paid little attention to her makeup -most days applying just a touch of mascara- half an hour of an average morning was spent fastening and unfastening each strap on the plates of armor guarding her thighs, every band between her spaulders and gorget, all the buckles of her fingerless gloves and elbow pads, the laces of her boots, and the two belts of coarse leather securing her sheath at her side. One was strapped across her waist, the other over her shoulder.

Apart from the grey of her armor and the brown of both boots and belts, everything Lazula wore was blue and gold. Her tunic fell to the top of her thigh, made of a material created just for her outfit: fabric thick enough to block the slash of a sword, yet soft, flexible, and breathable. It was double-breasted with a high collar, trim and buttons gleaming gold. Her pants were made from the same material, but a shade away from black. The look was completed by the waist-length cape that attached to her shoulder pads. Thin lines of gold traced down the cape to each side of her symbol; her sword running down the middle of her shield, the crossguard and top of her shield forming an eight-pointed star.

Lazula raised her wrist to the locker and heard a metallic clink at its handle. The light poured in, reflecting off her impenetrable heater shield, Aegis. Gold at its raised spine and its frame. Three golden spokes radiated from the top center of her shield. The longest stuck straight up from the spine, with a smaller one at an angle to each side.

An excited murmur arose as Lazula pulled Aegis from her locker, and began to strap it to her arm. Lazula reached once again into her locker, producing her sheathed sword and the belts that fastened it to her hip. The rapidly gathering crowd broke into a wild clamor, enlivened by the glimpse at the resplendent shine of her sword, Impetus.

Her eyes narrowed at the crowd that had gathered under the exit sign. A hush falling over them, the girls began to disperse.

By the time Caspian arrived at the bridge to Sentinel's practice arena, an island nestled in the most inland point of the bay, a throng of applicants had already gathered. At the mouth of the bridge, a stage was set up, and four airships lined the water's edge at each side. Barricuda-Class, judging by their pointed, pencil-shaped bodies and thin wings. Past the stage, and past the bridge, Caspian could see a set of grandstands lining the entry. The broken remains of buildings, a thicket of trees, and a small mountain were all visible from the shore.

Next to each ship stood what appeared to be a huntsman, dust baton held at their right side. More were dispersed within the crowd, surrounding it, and at both ends of the bridge. However, each one wore the same lightly armored uniform of white, silver, black, and violet highlights; the outfit given to each of Frontline Biomedical's Organic Androids.

Caspian huffed. "Organd security is high today," he noted.

"I'm glad," Lilly replied. "With what happened yesterday, there's no way of knowing when the Red Claw will attack again..."

"But, you know..." Rowan began. He swept his arm in front of his body, looking forward at the mass of applicants. "School full of huntsmen in training? Of all the places to attack, I feel like this one would be kinda pointless."

"There are two instances of schools being attacked in the past," Snow stated. "One resulted in major property damage and loss of life, both within the school and the surrounding area. I believe your parents were present for said attack. The other was almost entirely averted, but resulted in the death of the school's Headmaster."

"How reassuring, thank you Snow!" Ichigo responded.

"By the way, where is Lazula? Still too cool for us?" Rowan guessed.

"Her just being here would cause a commotion," Caspian replied. "She's probably off by herself somewhere. Whatever the airships are for, I'm surprised she's not on her own private one."

"Would it be blue and gold, too?" Ichigo joked.

Caspian chuckled. "Probably."

"Well, that's one thing about not being the 'Indomitable Girl.' You don't get hassled everywhere you go!" Rowan added. "You're free to blend in with the crowd!"

Caspian grit his teeth. "Yeah, I guess that's true!"

His friends laughed. Caspian guessed his facade had worked.

He looked to the stage, hearing the crowd begin to roar with excited cheer. A man strode up to the microphone. Despite only looking to be approaching middle-age, his marked limp was supported by a cane. He dressed in black slacks, shoes, and tie, a stone grey blazer, and a white shirt underneath. His hair matched his blazer, and was parted neatly at one side, sweeping across his forehead and back toward his ear. His green eyes -behind a pair of glasses- had once shown with verdant passion, but had dulled with age. Caspian and Lazula's mother accompanied him to the stage.

Caspian recognized the man instantly. The Headmaster of Sentinel Academy, and his father.

"All this time, and I'm still not certain how to begin my speeches," the Headmaster began. A murmur of laughter rose from the crowd, and the Headmaster let out a deep breath. "You've all gathered here today, leaving homes and families in search of something even greater. You believed you were coming to a school that would both prepare you for your future, and train you to protect the people of Remnant, should they ever need protecting. But just last night, the world has changed. At times, our future may seem uncertain. At times, it is. But it is my promise as Headmaster that I will do everything in my power to keep the people safe. Not just those of Port Cyrreine, not just those of Vale. I trust you all to fight alongside me."

Rowan joined the crowd in its cheer. The rest settled for applause.

"But, there is one final obstacle standing between you and Sentinel Academy," the Headmistress spoke up. "These past several months of rigorous tests, both physical and mental, come to a head today, with our Final Entrance Examination."

"Before the exam, you will be randomly selected to board one of our eight airships. Each airship has a different trajectory, and your drop order will be randomized," the Headmaster explained. A screen flashed behind him, displaying the outline of a person being encased in what appeared to be a bubble.

"You will be dropped in a Holosphere. The sphere falls slowly, and mitigates most impact, minimizing the risk of injury upon landing. However, once on the ground, your well-being is not guaranteed," he continued. "You will face animatronic grimm of all types. These grimm will be ranked on a points system. Naturally, larger, more dangerous grimm are worth more points. I must stress, these animatronic grimm will be your only enemy within the arena. If you purposefully turn your weapon against another applicant, you _will_ be immediately disqualified. Furthermore, while schools of the past may have been more... _lax,_ student safety is our top priority. If at any time your aura falls to zero, the animatronics will cease to attack you and your score will be frozen, rendering your test over."

"You will partner up with the first person you lock eyes with upon landing," the Headmistress took over. "If some reason, such as biases or another compelling personal reason, prevent you from working together, you may find a new partner." She started, as if remembering something suddenly.

"Before the test, you will also be provided a school-issued Holoband. If you already own one, you may use your own for the rest of your time at Sentinel. If not, consider the one you are provided today yours. Don't lose it!"

" _You will partner up with the first person you lock eyes with._ " The words echoed in Caspian's mind. Assuming he passed, the thought that finding someone, _anyone_ , by pure chance today would have an indisputable effect on the next four years of his life made his heart race.

Headmaster Skye spoke up again. "Within the time limit, earn two-hundred points alone, or three-hundred and fifty as a pair, and you will pass. For those of you who do, this will double as initiation, and you will be assigned a team today. For those who do not, your transcripts and paperwork will be transferred to all other huntsman academies."

"We wish you all the best of luck," Headmistress Skye said. "Those of you without Holobands, please come to the front in an orderly fashion. Those of you who already own them, do note they will be disabled while within testing grounds, apart from contact with your partner, and viewing of applicant rankings."

Caspian felt a pulse of vibration from his Holoband. He looked down, a quizzical expression flashing across his face as the number three projected in bold.

"You have now been assigned airships," Headmaster Skye explained. He held an arm out. "Ships one through four are to my right, five through eight are on my left. Please, make your way to the ship with number matching the one on your scroll."

"Three, anyone?" Caspian asked, looking around to his friends.

"I have been assigned ship six," Snow declared.

"Nope, ship two. Sorry," Rowan responded.

"Ship two?" Ichigo repeated, holding up his arm. The number two projected from it.

"Yeah! Ship two!" Rowan exclaimed, enthusiastically initiating a high-five.

Lilly sighed. "Looks as if I've been assigned ship seven. Maybe Laurel or Lazula will be on yours?" Lilly offered.

"Maybe..." Caspian managed. He sighed, an attempt at stifling the pang of unease in his gut. He cracked a knuckle and bit his lip, eyes flicking to the rapidly dispersing crowd. Rowan, Ichigo, Lilly, and Snow began to join them. His thoughts shifted to Laurel. The two had known each other forever, and of course shared the same group of friends. Yet out of all of them, she was, for whatever reason, the one person he had talked to least. And, well... she _was_ a little intimidating too, Caspian thought. Then, Lazula.

He would feel the need to apologize to her if he ended up as her partner.

Thoughts still meandering, Caspian began to make his way to airship three. He was caught for a few minutes in line, as an organd was posted at the entrance to ensure everyone was at the right ship. Caspian filed into the windowless cabin, and shuffled past a handful of applicants to take a seat at the far wall. He could feel his heartbeat now, and his breath came uneasily whenever he gave half a thought to where he was, and what he was about to do.

He closed his eyes, taking in for a second the anxious rumble of the cabin. Not many onboard spoke, Caspian noticed. They did as he did; focusing their thoughts, and staring down the competition. As Caspian's eyes began to wander, they settled on a pair of hands wearing what looked like weightlifting gloves, with a colored stud at each knuckle. Its owner, a brunette with a chin-length bob of hair, was dressed in a tan tank top, tight, army green cargo pants, and a brown scarf. Judging by the knitting, Caspian guessed it to have been made by a hobbyist, rather than a professional or a machine.

A bushy squirrel tail twitched once, marking the faunus's victory in securing the school-issued Holoband to her wrist. Her tail twitched again as she projected a screen from it, and gingerly extended a hand to pass her fingers through the hologram. She looked up to meet Caspian's eyes, and flashed a cheery smile.

"Hey! Good luck!"

"Uh- Th-Thanks, y-you too!" Caspian stammered.

At that moment, the engines of the ship suddenly burst to life. Caspian felt the ship begin to take off, and a voice spoke through the loudspeaker, accompanied by a pulse of vibration from his Holoband.

"You have all just been issued your drop order number," the voice announced. "Please form a single-file line, with those first in the drop order at the back of the cabin. Thank you."

Caspian let out a shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself. The cabin before him began to shift, all prospective students coalescing into a single, disorganized mass. A swarm of numbers filled the air. Caspian listened, eventually finding his place among the line. A few minutes later, another announcement. The one Caspian had been dreading most.

"Holosphere drops will now begin. If you are not already in your designated order, please find your place in line immediately."

Beams of light flooded into the cabin as the doors at the back opened. An assistant next to the door placed his hand on the first girl's shoulder. They exchanged a few words, and she disappeared from the ship.

The line shuffled forward.

One by one, the people in front of Caspian dropped. Some jumped on their own, others were nearly thrown from the cabin. Each time, the line inched forward, and Caspian's heart beat harder. Then, Caspian was at the front. His legs began to wobble beneath him as he looked down. The ship was above the middle of Sentinel's training island. The forest was at one side, city at the other, Caspian analyzed. Depending on the wind, he could end up in eith-

Caspian felt a hand between his shoulders, and he was pushed forward. 


	3. Social Facilitation

Not a second after her feet touched ground, the Holosphere dissolved around Snow. She paused for a few seconds, taking in her surroundings. She had landed in the middle of a deciduous forest. The leaves above were speckled with the first hints of Early Autumn. In the sky above, holospheres still descended, drifting leisurely to the ground like snowfall.

Snow's head snapped to the left. Down a slight incline, toward where the trees opened to a decrepit model of an abandoned city. She began to sprint, elbows locked at a perfect right angle, pumping to shoulder level in front. Her eyes were fixed toward the city, locked on their destination despite the bobbing of her head.

Gunshots rang out in the forest behind her. From her side, a young man's shout. Yet she kept running. Her focus was finally broken by a violent clamor, a cracking and crunching of branches above. A shadow dropped from the canopy, scattering leaves and causing the ground beneath Snow's boots to tremor.

Snow skidded to a stop, reaching for the weapon at her belt. She stared down the animatronic Beringel, watching as it let out a ferocious scream. It pounded on its titanium-plated chest, and leapt at the white-haired huntress in training. At the last moment before a two-fisted pound split the dirt at her feet, Snow pivoted to the side.

As she turned, she pulled a silver handle from her belt. A straight, single-edge blade sprung forth from within, glowing with the pale blue of hard-light dust. She struck four times. Each slash was measured, lashing at the animatronic's vulnerable skin of a black, leathery cloth. She would turn her body and move her feet with each attack, a dance of aggression and grace in perfect balance. She ducked around the monster's swings for several seconds, slashing with her weapon's blade whenever she found an opening. An overhead strike was blocked by the creature. Snow's eyes flicked to the side, where another punch neared. She flipped backward and under it where she stood, landing on her feet and springing back toward the machine without missing a beat.

As she swung upward into the animatronic's underarm, glowing lines traced from the tip of her sword, forming the outline of an axe's head. A horrible metallic scraping filled the air, and sparks flung in all directions as Snow ripped her axe through the machine's shoulder socket. Its arm fell to the forest floor. Another axe swing, and it fell.

Snow began to sprint again, feeling a pulse of vibration from her holoband.

Lazula thrust Impetus through the chest of an oncoming Beowolf, sinking her weapon through to its golden crossguard. The guard was spread like a set of lustrous wings, one half curving in toward the broad, silver blade, and the other half perpendicular to it. A cobalt blue core ran down the middle of her blade, surrounded, like most of Lazula's attire, by gold.

Feeling the familiar pulse of vibration from her holoband, an indication she had defeated the animatronic and gained points, she flung the imitation beast from Impetus, and into another coming from her right side. The two collided with a crumbling wall, and were crushed beneath the rubble.

Another set of claws scratching on pavement, this time from Lazula's right. She blocked a swipe with Aegis, propelling the attack backward. She ducked down and twirled, sweeping the beast's feet out from under it. She leapt upward, leaving both her and her foe in the air before planting the heel of her boot in the creature's gut, and slamming it back to the pavement. It made a harsh cracking sound as it landed, and Lazula disposed of it with one final stab.

She turned on the balls of her feet, raising Aegis just in time to block the lightning-fast strike of a serpentine animatronic. The fangs, each the length of her forearm, hooked over the top of her shield. Lazula wrenched her arm upward to impale the roof of the snake's mouth with her shield's spikes. One of the snake's heads recoiled and the other lashed at her. She braced herself and raised her shield again. This time, she bashed forward, taking the entire impact into her arm.

Lazula activated her semblance: kinetic energy manipulation. Absorbing the impact, she turned her body and swung with Impetus. The animatronic's energy was channeled into her swing and amplified, easily bisecting her foe. A gale of wind ripped down the nearby alleyway with her swing, knocking a fire escape to the ground with an ear-splitting tumult **,** and knocking a Beowolf animatronic at the end of the alley to its back.

A white-haired girl, dressed in white and a delicate blue, drove her gleaming sword into its chest. Lazula watched it arch its back, and go limp. She sheathed Impetus, breathing out a muted smile as the dust settled, her eyes meeting with the colorless pair down the alley.

"So, I guess this makes us partners?" Lazula called.

Snow nodded, and walked toward Lazula.

* * *

Caspian jogged through the forest, one eye on the path ahead, and one on the screen he held in front of him. The only sounds in the thick pine woods were his feet on the ground, his breath, and the torrent of thoughts plaguing him. He flicked from the singles list, on which he was one of a handful who had not yet scored any points, to the doubles. Lazula, apparently, had paired with Snow. They were comfortably ahead of the second-place pair, little surprise to Caspian. He scanned the list, then flipped back to the singles bracket.

A quick moment of relief. Lilly, on pace to pass the exam, had not yet found a partner. If he could just find her, Sentinel Academy wouldn't be too bad. His mind began to slip to other scenarios. Rowan, Ichigo, and Laurel were all at varying positions in the singles list. It was still early in the exam, of course, but knowing the possibility of teaming with a friend existed, however small, gave him some peace of mind. Then, there was that squirrel faunus from the airship. Caspian never caught her name, but her brilliant smile had caught him off guard. She seemed nice, and was, well, _really_ cute, Caspian thought.

What sounded like an Ursa's roar shook the faunus from Caspian's mind. He planted his feet in place and turned to the sound. From within a cluster of boulders, a huge black bear, with spines of titanium armor on face, arms, shoulders, and back, broke out on all fours. Pines and dirt tore up from the forest floor with each stride.

Caspian knew the beast was just an animatronic, programmed to sense aura and stop attacking before any real damage could be done. But still. The hulking black monster stood several feet taller than he, even running on four legs. Its snarls, claws, and teeth seemed real enough.

He reached behind his right shoulder, and unsheathed a thin, black cutlass with a trailing point, both edges of the blade gleaming with cobalt luster. As Caspian pulled the weapon from his back, he flipped a switch at the handle. The blade separated and folded in on itself to form an oversized handgun. Under Caspian's thumb, an oblong tract of steel rotated into place, finishing his weapon's transformation. "Undertow" was carved out of it, glowing blue from within like much of the muzzle.

He aimed between the animatronic's eyes. His finger began to tug on the trigger, but he halted, looking to the side.

Brown waves of aura crackling around her powerful legs like lightning, the squirrel faunus from the ship sprinted in. Her aura spread to her fist, and she snapped the animatronic's head to the side with a careening blow. The titanium plates covering the imitation Ursa's head cracked, and the branches of surrounding trees rippled in every direction with the shockwave.

She stood over the animatronic, shaking out her fist. Her scarf settled at her back, and her head turned. Her eyes met Caspian's.

"Oh, sorry! Was this one yours?" the girl asked. Caspian could hear footsteps.

"Oh- uh, it's okay. It's... still early," Caspian assuaged. His eyes fell to his Holoscreen, a dark blue "0" still beside his name. "But if we're partners, i-it won't matter, right?"

Her tail drooped a bit, as did Caspian's hopes. A girl with magenta hair strode into view, finally catching up with her partner.

"Ah, got it. No worries!" Caspian promised. He fidgeted with his Holoband, and began to turn around. He forced a smile. "I should be going now, good luck!"

"Good luuuuck!" she called after him.

Rain began to fall. Caspian could hear it on the canopy above, and every few seconds an intrepid drop would break through to land on him. The holosphere he had dropped in had prevented any view of the outside, and his father had been rather secretive about the layout, so as not to give his children an advantage. So, when he broke out into a clearing at the base of a jagged precipice, he was caught by surprise.

He could hear a peculiar scraping noise from above, and he looked to its source. A colossal arachnid, with a pair of mantis-like arms and white spires jutting out from its abdomen, clambered across the rock face, what Caspian guessed to be nearly a hundred feet up. " _An Aracylla_ ," Caspian thought, remembering his father's tales of the creatures from the lonesome woods of Northern Mistral. " _This thing has to be worth at least forty points!_ "

The machine lost its footing for a second, sending a cascade of stones the size of Caspian's head to the ground nearby.

Caspian pulled Undertow from his back, and lined up a shot toward one of the grotesque animation's legs. The bullet of pure dust met its mark, and the spider lost its footing once more. Caspian's satisfied smirk dropped, and his eyes widened.

Instead of a clumsy fall to the ground below, the machine found its footing, let out a horrific screech, and pounced.

Caspian yelled with fright and dove to the ground, and felt the animatronic land behind him with a thunderous slam. He turned over, and was able to shoot out a couple of eyes before it sprang toward him. Caspian raised his armguard in an attempt to block a strike from the creature's mantis claws, but the lash propelled his arm back into his brow. He punched outward at the next strike, allowing him just enough time to slash once with Undertow and flip onto his feet. He reversed his grip, and sent the tip of his weapon through one of the Aracylla's many eyes. The beast recoiled in simulated agony, leaving an opening for Caspian to jump in and strike the delicate link between leg and body. With little resistance, the joint gave way and the creature screeched, front leg falling to the ground.

A shotgun blast rang through Caspian's ears, causing him to jump. The creature tensed up, before knocking Caspian aside and turning around on its remaining legs. It lurched forward to strike, but was met with a second blast. Barely visible under his foe's legs, Caspian saw a combat boot stomp on one clawed foot. A swing of something steel, and the leg separated from body.

With one final clash of steel on armor, the Aracylla's legs drew in toward its body, and began to curl.

"Hey, nicely done!" Caspian called.

A man appeared from behind the animatronic's body. Lean, several inches taller than Caspian, even with his slouch. The bridge of his long nose was pierced twice by a set of black triangle studs, the same piercings decorating his ears. His hair was shaved at the sides, spiked in front and tied into a ponytail in back. A wolf's tail flicked from behind him.

The man slung a heavy looking bat over his shoulder, and sunk his other hand into the pocket of his studded black jacket. He strolled around the disabled machine, and looked at Caspian with cold, dark eyes. He wasn't a cute girl, Caspian analyzed. Nor was he a girl at all. ...Nor was he particularly cute. But he took the animatronic down with relative ease, and looked tough.

"It doesn't look like you have a partner..." Caspian hinted.

"I don't. What's your name?" the man asked in reply.

"Caspian, and you?"

He projected the entrance exam's rankings from his school-issue Holoband, and scanned them, starting at the top. The longer he looked, the disdain etched upon his face mounted. "Caspian Skye?" he finally asked, looking up.

"Y-Yeah, that's me!"

The man switched off his Holoband, and turned around. "Good luck," he bid with a dismissing wave.

"Hey, wait!" Caspian pleaded. "The first person you lock eyes with is the one you partner with! Didn't you hear the Headmistress?"

"...Unless you have a compelling personal reason for not being able to work well with said partner," the faunus reminded curtly.

Caspian's shoulders sunk. "Do you... not trust humans? I know faunus are equal on paper now, but it's easier to change laws than people's minds."

"I'm not crazy about them, no." He turned back to Caspian. "There are plenty of faunus I don't care for either."

"Then... what's your reason?" Caspian asked.

"My ' _compelling reason'_ is that you have zero points. Goodbye."

Caspian froze where he stood, pangs of indignation and embarrassment saturating his mind. He watched he wolf faunus disappear into the trees, never once turning over his shoulder. He noticed a hum from above him, and aimed Undertow to it's source.

It was a drone, displaying on its side the logo of Port Cyrreine's major television station. Caspian grit his teeth. His weapon's trigger begged to be pulled, but Caspian noticed a slight tremor to his hand.

With a defeated look, he sheathed his weapon.

* * *

The Headmaster had returned to his office to view the Final Entrance Examination. He sat at his desk with Headmistress Skye, watching the grid of screens displaying before him. Every minute, one would switch to focus on an applicant, or display a particularly active area of the testing grounds. The two murmured back and forth, the Headmaster occasionally entering in notes or tidbits of data into his computer.

The elevator door opened behind the two.

"I see Cas is having some rotten luck today, poor kid," a man's voice commented. It was not especially deep, but carried an inexplicable suave huskiness.

The Headmaster merely gave a nod and a grunt as reply.

"But, I'm guessing that isn't why you called me here," the voice prompted.

The Headmaster finally turned around to the source of the voice. It was a man about a decade younger than Headmaster and mistress, dressed in dark khaki pants, navy tie, and sky blue button-down with sleeves rolled to his elbows. His chocolate brown hair was swept back behind his ears. Though it looked to be recovering from being recently tied back, it had begun to spread out across his shoulders. A swath of stubble framed his agreeable face.

"I'll start with the good news, Douglas," Headmaster Skye addressed. "Lazula and Snow have teamed up, and are on pace to pass the exam."

"Good. And no surprise there," Douglas answered. He cracked a wry smile. "...And the bad news is why you called me directly to your office? Snow was expecting me down in the stands, you know."

"Exactly. I'm not sure what it is, but I have a bad feeling about today," the Headmaster explained.

Douglas's smile faded. He lowered his voice, though the three were very much alone. "Is it your semblance?"

The Headmaster nodded once, stitching his fingers together. "While I can't be sure, it's a possibility. Griswold has sent organds to help with security-"

"Organds?"

"I've deployed my huntsmen as well, and have safety measures prepared," the Headmaster assured. "If the Red Claw plans to mount another attack like the one last night, the Entrance Examination will be a difficult target. But still, I needed you here, out of harms' way."

"How sweet of you," Douglas teased. His voice hardened. "But your own children are out there."

"My children are armed, and skilled in combat," the Headmaster reminded. He turned back to the screens, their glow reflecting in his glasses. "We'll just have to see how this plays out."


	4. Snake Eyes!

The first thing Rowan saw upon the walls of his holosphere dissolving was sand. Waves lapped upon the water's edge lazily, granting the beach a mask of serenity. He had been the first to drop from his ship, allowing him to watch for a few seconds as numerous other spheres descended into the testing grounds. His gaze flicked from the spheres to scan the surroundings. To his right, a craggy mountain scraped the sky. To his left, the gutted remains of a high rise peeked above the treeline. He took a single step toward the city.

His eyes narrowed, hand resting on the hilt of the sword behind his back.

He backed away slowly from the ground in front of him. It had begun to swell, shaking and twitching as if something underneath was attempting to break free. Finally, the ground ruptured. Rowan shielded his eyes from an explosion of sand. From within, the creature's sharp, steel head reared back. Its body was thick as the trunk of a tree, and impossible to guess how long. A serrated edge ran down its back, with similar, smaller spikes on both sides of the grotesque worm.

"Yuck!" Rowan remarked with a grin.

His moment of disgusted amusement was interrupted by the monster's head bearing down on him like a drill. He swung upward with his greatsword, Sanguine Storm, knocking its head back with a great clash of steel. The attack appeared to have little effect. The creature slung itself into the air, corkscrewing toward Rowan. Half a second before impact, he dove to the side and the worm instead tore back into the sand.

Rowan held his sword out, eyes flicking back and forth across the beach for any sign of his enemy. With a start, his head snapped to his feet. He was flung into the air on a cloud of dust, losing the grip on his sword. In free fall, he saw its handle to one side of his body, and the worm's three jaws unhinging to reveal spiralling rows of teeth. Rowan regained his grip, and twisted his body to shove his weapon down the machine's throat. Upon landing, Sanguine Storm pierced into the sand, and his enemy went limp.

"Huh? That's all?" Rowan complained, pulling his weapon and prodding the worm with his foot. "Should've left me alone. I wanna find a partner."

Rowan's eyes widened, and his head snapped over his shoulder. Two more worms had exploded from the dirt, and drove toward him. He spun with the swing of his weapon, knocking both heads back with the sharp side of his greatsword and returning them to the sand. The ground rumbled beneath his feet. But this time, he cracked a grin. He shoved the tip of Sanguine Storm into the dirt, and hopped up as it exploded once more. His weapon impaled the animatronic's throat, and he flipped through the air, bringing his blade down on the second, which had just emerged from below.

His weapon was halfway in its sheath before Rowan paused. Another Sandworm approached. Rowan planted his feet, and held Sanguine Storm at his hip. The tip separated and folded back, his entire weapon widening to its cannon form. Energy coarsed around his weapon as it began to buzz.

Just before firing, another Sandworm appeared behind him.

A vicious blast of concentrated dust fired into the core of the machine, coursing throughout its length and penetrating through to a boulder dozens of feet down the beach. Rowan leapt with the kick of his gun, transforming it back into a greatsword and shearing through the animatronic behind him.

Rowan panted, checking his Holoband. "Rowan Brown," it displayed. "Aura: 86%."

"Eighty-six? Not bad..." Rowan commented. He turned to the trees. "Now, if I can just find myself a teammate, I think I'll be fine."

Rowan's eyes narrowed as a peculiar sound filled the air. First, a low crumbling. Then, the sound of something being dragged across the sand. He looked back again to see two silver fins rushing across the beach toward him, tearing up clouds of dust in their wake.

"Oh, come on. More?" Rowan impatiently complained. He kept one hand on the handle of Sanguine Storm, rolling to the side as both animatronics broke from the dirt. They were each the size of a minivan, two bulky arms supporting their torso and six smaller ones carrying the weight of their spiked tail. The ground on which Rowan just stood had become a crater of gashes from the grimm's front claws.

The one nearest pounced at the redhead with another claw strike. He braced himself and raised the broad side of his weapon, deflecting the blow into the dirt. He turned with the power behind the animatronic's attack, and brought his weapon across the monster's broad, flat, eyeless head. It rolled across the dirt with a pained shriek, before burrowing back into the sand. Rowan looked to the other Whitefin. He sidestepped one clawed strike, then another. He slashed down the creature's exposed side, but without warning the Whitefin spun on one of its front feet, lashing at Rowan with its tail.

He barely had time to raise his weapon. He blocked the spiny tail, but the force behind it sent him rolling across the ground. He spat out a wad of sand, and leapt to his feet before the ground before him erupted with the first Whitefin's jaws. Rowan transformed his weapon, and stared down the oncoming animatronics before letting loose another blast of dust. The blast tore through the first Whitefin, but glanced off the armor of the second.

As it leapt forward again, Rowan grit his teeth. Crimson waves channeled through his arms and to the tip of his weapon. With three reckless swings, the creature fell to the ground.

The ground shook. Then again.

Rowan panted, looking across the beach now littered with disabled machines. From behind him, he heard a guttural growl, like that of a massive alligator. Shivering, he turned around.

What looked like a dinosaur stood behind him. Two clawed legs, and a smaller set of arms. Its body, armored all the way down its back, was dozens of feet long. Its head was as large as he, with jaws capable of swallowing him whole and a cluster of spikes jutting out from its forehead like a regal steel pompadour. Rowan, standing straight, could have easily passed under the monster's legs.

"Nope. I do _not_ have the time for that!" Rowan decided, taking for the trees. He ran on shaky legs, due in equal parts to the sand, the shaking of the ground, and the horror of the fifteen foot tall Mud Baron at his heels.

Rowan screamed with a mixture of surprise and pain as he has hoisted from his feet with a chunk of dirt, and flung into the air, flailing hopelessly. He crashed into the trunk of a tree on the edge of the beach, rolling in pain and gasping for breath. Sanguine Storm stuck out of the ground some distance away.

Rowan lay on his stomach, letting out a groan. A screen flashed in front of his face. Next to his picture, his aura flashed red, at six percent. "Oh... that's not good," he managed. He looked up. The Mud Baron wandered through the trees, seemingly searching for him. Careful not to step on a twig, Rowan worked his way to the other side of his tree. He picked up a stone, peeked out from his hiding spot, and flung it in the opposite direction of his weapon.

The distraction worked.

Rowan made a dash for Sanguine Storm, flinging up dirt as he ripped it from the ground. His weapon folded back on itself and crimson sparks arked around the barrel of his cannon. As the Mud Baron turned, Rowan let loose a beam of dust. The Baron wrenched backward as the beam crashed into it, staggering on its feet. Rowan's eyes widened as the animatronic began to charge him with furious resolve. He dove to the side just in time to evade the animatronic's head slamming into the ground. With a great thrust, it launched clumps of dirt and stone above the treetops.

Rowan took refuge behind another tree. Smoke spiralled up from his weapon, and its ardent glow had faded. He transformed it back into its sword form, but flinched as the animatronic let loose a deafening roar. The tree shattered just a foot above his head, sending ragged chips and shards across the forest floor. Finding himself under his massive enemy's tail, he sprinted out, red once again swirling around his arm and sword.

He let out a yell, and slashed across the monster's ankle. It screeched, falling to its side.

The top of the shattered tree fell across its body, and it ceased to move.

"I... I did it?" Rowan commented. He grinned "I did it! Now, just to find a-"

A jingle played from his Holoband.

"Congratulations. You have passed Sentinel Academy's Final Entrance Examination," an automated voice announced. "Your test is now over. Please, make your way to the entrance of the arena. Do not attempt to interact further with any animatronics."

Rowan looked down at his wrist quizzically. Another grin came to his face. "Huh... well would you look at that!"

* * *

Ichigo sat on a gutted electrical box, squinted eyes glued to the screen of his laptop. He paid no mind to the screeching grimm soaring by the roof where he sat, nor to the bullets and beams that met them. "...So if I ping all of the computers running these things..." he muttered to himself. His fingers pounded the keys furiously, clattering away like a hailstorm. With the press of a button, a map of the area displayed, littered with blue dots. "...I should be able to find _something_ worthwhile." He smirked, zooming in on the largest. "But that one's too good to be true."

Laptop still in hand, Ichigo walked to the edge of the roof, and looked down. Excitement flared in his eyes as they happened upon a colossal Deathstalker. Its body was nearly as wide as the two-lane street, and with each step forward its claws scraped the buildings to each side.

Ichigo set his laptop up on the side of the building, once again pounding at its keys. Another map displayed, the dots this time a deep red. One single dot seemed to be nearby. Another pair was a couple of blocks away. None approached the Deathstalker.

Apparently satisfied, Ichigo closed his computer and held it by its hinge. Countless segments folded around each other as the object in his hand transformed from laptop to a bullpup submachine gun. Ichigo squeezed the weapon's smaller trigger, and with a high-pitched ring, fired a single pink tracer round fired from just below his gun's barrel. It lodged just behind the animatronic's head.

It didn't seem to notice.

Endless lines of white text flashed through the computer's screen. Ichigo sat still in a trance-like state, a soft fuschia glow coming to his eyes. He paused his scrolling on one specific line, highlighted it with a smirk, and pressed a single button with dramatic flair. Excited grin coming back to his face, he looked over the side of the roof. The Deathstalker's claws fell, and its tail unfurled, slamming to the concrete. It was still.

A furious scratching noise and bloodthirsty growl shook Ichigo from his moment of celebration. He whipped around to see a black dog, with steel face and spikes on shoulders and back, tearing toward him with jaws agape. Ichigo met its leap with a panicked swing, his laptop becoming a hatchet and living up to its name; Hack n' Slash.

His teeth clenched and he cried out as the beast's steel teeth clamped on his arm. He was wrenched into the ground, then flung several feet away as another Hellhound scrambled up through a hole in the roof's opposite end. The one nearest him pounced once more. Ichigo curled up, hatchet raised in a trembling attempt at defense.

A thunderous gunshot rang out, and the top of the Hellhound's head disappeared into a hail of steel fragments. The other turned. A tall young woman dressed in a thrashed black crop top, army green bomber jacket and black shorts with a pistol holstered at each hip, swung her guitar-shaped axe into the creature's side, as if teeing off a golf ball. It let out a mechanical whimper as it was launched off the side of the building, and the two heard a crash moments later.

"Had to chase those damn things up eight flights of stairs. You're lucky I decided it was worth it," she griped. Yellow eyes, with a slit for each pupil, locked with Ichigo's.

"Oh. 'sup, Ichi?"

"H-Hey Laurel," Ichigo weakly greeted. He looked over his arm, seeing his aura had staved off the attack.

Laurel ran a hand through her hair; shaved on one side, black at its roots but brightening to a muted light green toward its tips. She extended a tattooed arm to help him to his feet. "So, how many points you got?" she asked.

"That one alone netted me sixty-five," Ichigo said, pointing off the side of the building. "That's all so far, though."

Laurel nodded. "Those two brought me just under a hundred, so we're not in bad shape." She pursed her lips. "Hm. Do we stay up here and hope I can snipe enough out of the sky, or try our luck on the ground?"

"Whatever we decide, I think we're about to net a whole lot more points," Ichigo replied, not meeting Laurel's gaze.

She smirked. "I like your confidence, but we can't get ahead of ourselves here."

"I'm not," Ichigo replied. He pointed behind her.

A hundred feet above, a Nevermore with wingspan to match an airship opened its beak to let loose a hellish shriek. Wind shook the rooftop as its wings flapped once, air whistling past it as it began its descent upon the two.


	5. Lapis LSLI

Laurel and Ichigo flung themselves to each side of the Nevermore's attack with half a second to spare. Its talons shredded the concrete like paper with a deafening crunch, and the massive winged beast took to the sky once more, shrieking with impatient rage. A deep cracking noise came from within the building, then another. Laurel's eyes widened as the ground she lay on began to shift.

The two halves of the roof began to fall, the huntsmen with them. They settled on the next floor down, but before they could rise to their feet, the remainder of the floor above crashed into the already feeble structure, and they fell once more.

Apparently, the floor below was more stable. Laurel stirred, working her way to hands and knees and looking over to Ichigo. He sat up, brushing dust off Hack n' Slash, and fussing over its many ports and keys.

Laurel nodded, fragments of stone falling from her hair. "Looks like we're headed for the ground, then."

Lazula whipped around, and within a second Aegis was raised. She and Snow had found their way to what looked like a park, nestled between two streets of mid-rises, and what looked like a city hall. A fountain sat in the center of several stone pathways. Broken. Non-functioning, rather. Lazula would have been surprised if water ever actually ran through the derelict old thing. The lower half of a stone woman held onto the fountain's base by the tip of a toe. Nothing above her waist was much more than fist-sized chunks of marble.

Lazula's eyes scanned the buildings for the source of the sound she had just heard. There, at the top of a building about a block away, a huge pair of black wings beat. With a shriek, the Nevermore took to the sky. _That_ was a worthwhile target, Lazula thought. She didn't see anyone else engaged with it, and if it had attacked someone in the building, well, it looked like they needed some help.

"Snow, new target," Lazula commanded, pointing at the colossal bird. She took off down the street in the building's direction, Snow tailing her. "When we're close enough, get its attention!"

The beast let out another shriek, before settling back down on the structure's broken edge. It pecked once, then again; like a crow plucking worms from the dirt.

"I can hit at least half of my shots from here," Snow analyzed, her narrowed eyes focusing on the target.

"Good enough."

Snow pulled her weapon's handle from her belt. Two barrels of hard-light dust traced out from it, solidifying into an assault rifle. She raised her weapon even with her eye, and fired.

The bird's head wrenched back and shook as a volley of glowing shots pelted its side. It hopped up from its perch, twisting in midair and divebombing the huntresses below. Snow nimbly rolled aside. Lazula ducked down and took the brunt of the impact into her shield, pivoting on one foot and striking into the animatronic's foot. It fell to the ground, frayed wires sparking in the rain.

"Hey! It's them!" a familiar voice called.

Lazula let her attention off of the Nevermore for a spare moment. Running out of the building was Ichigo, with Laurel just behind him.

"Thanks for getting that thing off us," Ichigo acknowledged between labored breaths. "Not gonna lie, we were a few pecks away from elimination."

"Glad we could help," Lazula returned. She looked up, watching the winged animatronic circle back around.

An ear-splitting roar shook Lazula, Ichigo, and Laurel. The three flinched and hunched over by instinct, shielding themselves from the noise. Snow's head turned down the alley, and she switched her weapon to its blade configuration. From behind the building half a dozen Hellhounds raced toward the four. They were each at least the size of the two that had set upon Ichigo. Their jaws snapped with snarls and barks, crimson eyes glowing with an animated ferocity. Behind them, the alpha of their pack. Twice as tall as Lazula at the shoulder, with three armored heads and a spine of steel blades down its back and upon each leg.

Lazula assessed their situation. The Nevermore hadn't committed to an attack yet, but still circled above. The park, and open air, was to their back. In front of them, a small horde of vicious-looking grimm-machines, and their leader.

Lazula pointed forward. "Laurel! Pick them off!" she turned. "Snow. Hold your fire on the Nevermore for now."

Laurel ran forward, mounting her rifle on the hood of an old-fashioned sedan. Her shots met the Hellhounds, but as each one fell, another joined in from behind their alpha. As they neared, Snow joined in with a barrage from her own gun, and Ichigo from his. Many of their bullets bounced off their armored hides, others lodging in their bodies to little effect.

Lazula ran in. She bashed the first one, hearing its metal joints snap with the force of her blow. She spun and cleaved a second in half, bringing her blade back around on the neck of a third. Snow joined. She struck twice at one Hellhound, before changing into her weapon's axe configuration. She swung upward into its gut, springing backward onto one hand and back to her feet to dodge a flying claw strike from its packmate. Lazula whipped Aegis across her body, dashing the leaping grimm to the street with little effort.

"Uh, guys?" Ichigo called.

With another shriek, the Nevermore dove again. The three-headed beast at the end of the alley began to charge. Ichigo dove to the ground, firing a spray of bullets into the Nevermore's gut. Laurel's shot tore through it, and she wrenched her gun's lever, firing again. Screeching in pain and frustration, it took to the skies.

Snow and Lazula charged in on the three-headed Alpha Hellhound. Snow slid under its ravenous jaws and behind it, before planting her blade in the street to stop herself and kicking upward. Snow lashed at its side with a tempest of strikes, each following the last with perfect fluidity. The beast's claws came around with blinding speed, lending Snow just enough time to evade, and land a blow from her axe. Lazula took the opportunity to land a few strikes of her own, before another claw swipe knocked her off balance.

The creature reared back, raising claws above its head. Lazula judged the incoming attack too strong for even herself, and rolled backward. The pavement shattered below the strike. Snow dodged it, but was knocked back by another claw swipe, this one too quick to dodge.

" _Snow!_ " Lazula called.

The huntress was flung backward onto the sidewalk. She bounced and skidded across the pavement for several seconds before planting her hands on the ground and flipping back to her feet. As if she hadn't felt the attack, she chased the Hellhound down once more.

Lazula paused her assault, watching the white-haired huntress dash in and begin again to lash at the animatronic's side. _Where the hell did she learn to fight like this?_

Two beowolves tore down the alley nearest Ichigo. Gritting his teeth and planting his feet, he raised his gun and held down its trigger. The bullets tore at the creatures' synthetic black flesh, but they continued on. Ichigo ducked under a swipe as he transformed his weapon and cleaved at the beast's arm. The Beowolf recoiled, elbow attached by one wire. It bit at Ichigo, but its jaws were closed by an uppercut by his hatchet. Laurel turned her gun down the alley, blasting out the knee of the Beowolf that had not yet reached him.

"Duck!" she yelled. Ichigo obliged, and a bullet tore straight between the eyes of the monster he had engaged with. He struck down on the other, which was attempting to get back to its feet. It was motionless.

With a shout of surprise, Laurel wrenched herself back. Glass shattered in every direction and metal twisted as the car she had mounted her gun on was skewered by a colossal spear of a feather. It pierced through, almost to the concrete below. Feathers rained down on the four, shattering the ground as they fell.

Lazula raised Aegis. At the moment of impact, she turned her shield ever slightly, taking the brunt of the impact but flinging the feather to her side. She screamed as she wrenched her body around and slashed with Impetus. In one sweeping blow, she cleaved a massive hole in the front of the Alpha Hellhound, decapitating one head entirely. A visible arc of wind fired up from her blade, clipping the Nevermore's wing.

It began to fall.

The gleaming blade of Snow's weapon extended into a whip, lassoing the creature's neck and flinging it into the ground. Laurel braced for impact, and swung Snake Eyes, in axe form, straight into the creature's neck.

Its head separated from body, and the Nevermore's wings draped limply upon the walls to each side of the street.

Lazula panted, and heard a chorus of jingles from all four Holobands.

"Congratulations. You have passed Sentinel Academy's Final Entrance Examination. Your test is now over. Please, make your way to the entrance of the arena. Do not attempt to interact any further with any animatronics."

* * *

Lilly stepped carefully down the worn path cut into the mountain's side. A wall of jagged stone was to one side, affording little space between it and the steep drop below. A much wider ledge was several yards in front of her, and she hurried her footwork to leave her treacherous perch.

She found the ledge no safer. As she rounded the corner, an Ursa turned its head toward her. It stood up from all fours, and let loose a thunderous roar before beginning to charge.

The feather-haired huntress opened her parasol, deflecting a clawed attack into the wall. With her free hand, she flipped a latch at its handle, producing a rapier from inside of the stick. She whipped it across the Ursa's chest, and jabbed its gut before pulling back to evade another attack. She twirled as she stepped backward, her parasol cover glowing with a soft white light. A spire of stone ripped from the ground, and impaled the mechanized bear's side.

She sheathed her rapier once more, folding her parasol and propping it back onto her shoulder. She paused, eyes widening a hair. A man stood behind the ursa. Tall, spiked black hair formed into a wide mohawk, thick black boots, thrashed skinny pants, and a studded leather jacket to match. He slung a bat over his shoulder, and cocked his head back.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Lilliane," Lilly replied. She gave a quick, gentle laugh. "Though I suppose most just call me Lilly. And you are?"

The man projected a screen from his wrist. He scanned the rankings for several seconds in silence before looking up. "Noxis. Noxis Orion."

Lilly bid him a chaste smile, and a slight bow of the head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Noxis."

"Mm-hm."

Lilly pursed her lips at his noncommittal reply. "...I see your tail," she offered. "I'll wager a guess that you're a canine faunus of some variety?"

"A wolf, actually," Noxis explained. He leaned in a bit, narrowing his eyes. "That hair of yours. It doesn't look human either."

Lilly pulled her ponytail to the front of her body, running her fingers once through its feathery volume. "My mother's hair is much the same," she said proudly. "I'm a dove faunus, and she's a raven."

* * *

Caspian raced through the forest, gasping for breath with each desperate step. Yet, his mind ran faster. He had disabled a handful of Beowolf animatronics, but his score was no more than a quarter the threshold for passing. He had no idea how much time was left in the test. Twenty minutes had passed by his estimation, and the list of applicants still actively testing had thinned considerably. He still hadn't found a partner. Rowan had passed by the time he was rejected by that black-haired faunus. Ichigo had teamed up with Laurel, Snow had teamed up with his sister, and both pairs passed several minutes before. Lilly had teamed up with the guy who rejected him, and passed just after that. _Who does that guy think he is?_

Caspian's heart felt as if it stopped mid-beat. The screen showing applicant rankings froze for a second before going blank, and a jingle played from his Holoband.

"Sentinel Academy's Final Entrance Examination has concluded. Please, make your way toward the arena entrance. Do not attempt to interact further with any animatronics."

"No. No no no _nononono!_ " Caspian pleaded, pounding a finger into his Holoscreen. He slowed to a trot, then fell to his knees. Mud splashed onto his fists and coat as he slammed the ground in despair. Somehow, he knew this would happen. With all those who applied, _someone_ had to fail, after all. And of course that someone would be Caspian.

Caspian. The son of Twilight Crusade's famous leader. The one who led his band of amateur huntsmen against the Church of Awakening; a cult responsible for thousands of deaths, and the extermination of several villages in Northern Mistral, all in their attempt to bring back the Brother of Destruction. The one who had gone on to become Headmaster of Sentinel Academy, unheeding the cries that a new school in this time of peace was a waste of time, money, and dust.

Caspian. The brother of Lazula Skye. The Indomitable Girl, who had not once lost a tournament match. Hardly any lasted more than a minute against her. Her aura, her strength, it all seemed far too much for one person. She exuded that strength and confidence wherever she went, a naturally-born leader.

"Do remember, if you were unsuccessful in passing the examination, your transcripts will be sent to all other schools," Caspian's holoband reminded.

The automated voice and the blue arrow guiding him to the entrance of the arena seemed to mock him. He obliged begrudgingly, plodding along in the direction it demanded. His face was a catatonic mask, eyes frozen on the ground. Maintaining even his default smile against the maelstrom inside his mind was too much energy.

" _How am I going to face my family?_ "

The cheers of the crowd grew louder as Caspian neared the stands. He didn't want to be seen by them. If only there was a backdoor, he thought. But he remembered one single bottleneck as the passage between the spectators' stands, and the bridge to Sentinel. He had no choice but to keep walking.

Nearer still, the cheers of the crowd degraded into something horrific. Caspian heard screams and wails, breaking above the shrill sound of countless unearthly shrieks and roars. An alarm began to blare. Caspian leapt with surprise as his Holoband screamed with an alert.

"Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: six. Please evacuate the area in a timely manner."

Caspian's tongue swelled in his throat. His heart pounded against his chestplate, and he felt hot under his outfit. The Grimm were here. This couldn't be part of the test, could it? After what happened the night before, there's no way his father would do something like this.

...Right?

Caspian jogged around one last corner on the edge of the broken city, and the stands finally came into view. A black swarm of Grimm swirled above the spectators' stands, screaming with fury as their claws tore at the hard-light walls between them, and the hundreds of people huddled inside.

A hulking beast stood at the lone passage between the arena and Sentinel's campus. Nearly three times Caspian's height, and just as wide. It was indescribably ugly. Broad shoulders like a bull, muscle bulging underneath the black flesh of its gangly arms. It had the horns of a ram, and white face far too human for Caspian's comfort.

The Headmaster's face appeared on the hard-light barrier. "This is not part of the examination. These _are not_ animatronics," he spoke urgently. "A safe zone has been set up in Sentinel Stadium. I have deployed all of my huntsmen and dozens of organds to campus to ensure your safety. Please, make your way there in a quick, but orderly fashion."

The Bullfiend reared its head back, letting loose a bellow of eldritch rage. It charged forward, crashing into the stands with the force of a steam engine. The Headmaster disappeared and screams poured out of the newly formed crack in the dust barrier. It pulled backward slowly, a growl arising in its throat.

Caspian's trembling hand grasped Undertow, and pulled it from its sheath. He held the weapon at his side, trying to keep his breath even as his eyes met the monster's.


	6. Fight or Flight

Lazula and Snow were almost to the door of the Student Fitness Center when the alarms began to blare. A voice warned the crowd to get inside, and stay as calm as they could manage. Yet Lazula could see the cause of panic. Toward the water, above the sports fields and sparring courts temporarily housing vendors stalls and picnic tables, winged beasts soared.

" _...Another attack._ " Lazula let out a breath to compose her thoughts. "I'm going to help."

"I... I don't think I should," Ichigo decided after a pause, with a quiver in his voice. He looked to Laurel. "I mean, you saw me against the animatronics." He indicated his Holoband. "Rowan says he's in the locker rooms. I-I think I'll meet up with him."

"I won't ask anyone else to come with me. These are real Grimm. If you don't kill them, they _will_ kill you," Lazula reminded. "If you would like to, help would be welcome."

Lazula abandoned the doors to the SFC, swimming against the crowd that rushed inside. Snow and Laurel followed. She ran through everyone she knew was testing. Laurel and Snow were beside her. Ichigo and Rowan were in the Student Fitness Center, and unless the attack spread, they would be safe by her guess.

That left Caspian and Lilly.

"Snow, call Lilly. Make sure she's safe, and tell her to message me when she can."

"Understood."

"This area is under attack by the Creatures of Grimm. Please, evacuate to Sentinel Stadium immediately," a man dressed in Frontline's Organic Android uniform demanded. His tone was authoritative, but devoid of the worry Lazula would expect of the situation. He, and a similarly dressed woman, guided a score of horrified spectators toward the stadium. Lazula ignored the android's request, instead poking at the call symbol next to her brother's portrait.

"The person you are trying to reach is currently not in range of service. Please try again later."

" _Shit._ "

"Lilly is currently inside of Sentinel Stadium, she said she's safe," Snow reported.

"Good," Lazula responded. That, at least, was a relief. But Caspian was another issue entirely. CCTS service should cover all of Port Cyrreine, she reasoned. The only dead spot would be one deliberately made. She pounded the call symbol again.

"The person you are trying to reach is-"

Lazula broke into a run.

What was a pleasant, rainy yet festive day just minutes before had degenerated into pure chaos. Lazula couldn't tell whether the screams of grimm or human assaulted her ears from each direction. Gunfire erupted from the crowd, striking down several of the Nevermores and Griffons that dotted the sky. Yet as one fell, it seemed as if two more would take its place.

Laurel took off to the side, some distance from where organds guided groups of spectators and students alike into the stadium. She mounted her gun on a picnic table, and began to fire rounds into the air. The Grimm faded as they fell, disintegrating to nothing before reaching the ground.

Lazula found her path to the bridge blocked by an Ursa. It matched her speed, trampling toward her on all fours. As she neared, she raised Aegis, taking the bone-crushing force of the collision into her arm. She spun, channeling her semblance into a single forceful swing. Impetus tore from the Ursa's hip to opposite shoulder. Flesh to both sides of the massive gash began to dissolve. Lazula punched the fallen creature to the side, continuing onto a handful of Beowolves.

She slashed twice across the gut of the first, bashing with Impetus to knock the beast's two halves apart. She dashed to impale a second, tearing her blade from its chest and into the neck of another. Snow joined her, lashing at the creatures without a semblance of fear, attacking as if they were animatronics that would let up as soon as they brought her aura to zero.

Several screams broke out from nearby. Snow cast her glance to the side, where a Creep broke from its pack to chase down a large family. The white-haired huntress lashed out with her weapon's whip configuration, its barbed spines binding the Grimm's arms to its body as it wrapped around. Snow ripped it toward her and flipped through the air, transforming her weapon into its axe configuration and cleaving the beast in two.

Without waiting for a word of thanks, she leapt back toward the black horde surrounding Lazula.

A pack of Beowolves surrounded Lazula. She panted through grit teeth, a lock of hair falling from place and draping across her nose. She stared the beasts down. The real ones were a bit larger than the machines on Sentinel's training island. The leathery skin she had seen on the animatronics was pitch black fur, and the steel plates of armor she had grown used to now looked to be made of bone.

One broke the standoff, leaping at her with a ferocious snarl. She blocked its swipe, despatching it easily. But more assailed her from each side, taking her broken focus to their advantage.

She had taken out four or five by the time a shadow crossed in front of her, too fast for her to make out any particular form. Wind whipped by her and she looked to the side to see a woman in all black, katana raised to the end of a calculated slash.

Three Grimm in her path began to dissolve, dark essence flowing into her katana as she sheathed it.

The woman was about her father's age, the beginning of grey streaks appearing in her pitch black hair. A lock to each side of her face looped under her ear, rejoining the ponytail in back. Her face was obscured by a white and red mask, modelled after the face of a fox. Though her life as a huntress had officially ended with the Grimm's first defeat, her lean muscle and athletic physique had deteriorated strikingly little in the years since.

Lazula nodded out of gratitude. "Mrs. Kurayami," she greeted. "Thank you. Ichigo is safe, he's in the SFC right now."

The woman turned, revealing a badge on her right breast. "Sentinel Academy; Head of Security," it read on each side of the school's crest.

"It is nothing," she said. "And thank you very much for the update. But please, get Snow to safety as well. A safe zone has been set up inside of Sentinel Stadium."

Lazula shook her head as Snow finished off one final Creep and regrouped with her. "We'll be fine," she assured. "We should focus on clearing out the Creatures of Grimm."

Mrs. Kurayami placed a hand on Lazula's shoulder as she began to turn, clutching Impetus's handle. "I have been ordered by your father to find you and secure Snow. I do not doubt your abilities, but this is a direct order!"

"Why is Snow's safety being held above everyone else's?" Lazula questioned, edge of impatience arising in her voice. She grimaced at the shrieks of human and grimm alike. "People will _die_ if I don't fight!"

"Your father has deployed all of the huntsmen he has available." Mrs. Kurayami turned to Snow. "I understand why you wish to fight as well. But please, come to safety."

"MY _BROTHER_ IS STILL IN THERE!" Lazula pleaded, violently beckoning to the bridge.

Mrs. Kurayami's eyes widened, and she raised her wrist to place a call. "Pierce! I have found Lazula. She says Caspian is still inside of the Stadium!"

Lazula heard a man on the other end swear in a gruff voice. "Meet me at the mouth of the bridge. But make sure Lazula takes Snow to the Stadium."

"I'm sorry," Snow offered as she, Lazula, and Laurel joined the crowd funneling into safety.

"It's not your fault," Lazula dismissed, staring straight ahead.

"I'm... worried about Caspian."

Lazula sighed. "...So am I."

The three found their way into Sentinel Stadium, finding Lilly calming an elderly couple among the masses mumbling, fidgeting and weeping in the stands. After exchanging a few words, Lazula and Laurel left Snow with the faunus, and stood guard outside of the stadium's main doors. Laurel picked Grimm off from a distance as Lazula stayed near, guarding the stragglers from beasts that strayed too close.

She kept a spare eye on the people who entered, hoping to catch a glimpse of her brother.

An infant's cries permeated the air inside of the stadium, shrill above the indistinct muttering of the masses. Her mother, a young woman with curly locks of brown hair, cradled the baby in a vain attempt at consoling her. Snow cocked her head slightly, as if examining the situation. Without a word to Lilly, she stepped toward them.

"Excuse me," Snow introduced. "May I hold your child?"

The woman looked to Snow uneasily with fatigued eyes. She looked down to her child and stood, handing the baby over. Snow cradled the girl gently, and began to hum a soothing tune. The child's cries lessened to a whimper as Snow rocked her slowly. Then, silence.

* * *

The solid sheets of rain buffeting Caspian's face glowed red under the flashing of countless holographic warnings. The Bullfiend's eyes shone brighter. A grey fog rose from its drooling maw, obscuring the horrified faces of those who looked on. The ground shook with each of the beast's steps toward Caspian. It looked to be sizing him up, a predator slowly closing in on its prey.

Without warning, it began to charge.

Caspian's heart leapt out of his chest. As if his body puppeted his mind, he ran forward, blade in hand.

The abominable creature lowered its head, stark white horn aimed for his gut. Caspian tumbled to the side. The ground was filthy, but preferable to being gored by a horn the width of a grapefruit. He sprung back to his feet as the fiend skidded to a stop. Caspian tore at its thigh with Undertow in the best imitation of his sister's strike. He stepped forward, reversing his blade's momentum to slash into its gut. The Bullfiend roared, swinging wildly with claws half the length of Caspian's own weapon. He screamed, diving back to the mud with dangerously little time to spare.

Caspian rolled onto his feet, gaining some distance between he and the monster. Once again, it bolted at him. Sinking back and raising his weapon with a trembling arm, he fired a shot into its eye, stopping it in its tracks as a thick black liquid began to seep down its bony mask. Caspian's next shot wasn't as accurate, leaving little mark in the bone next to its remaining eye. He took off, running an arc around to the beast's blind side. Undertow's bullets of dust tore through its pelt, smoking from the wounds they produced.

A snarl from his side, then screams. Caspian turned to see a Beowolf clawing at the crack the Bullfiend's horns had left in the barrier, the last vestige of protection between human and Grimm. The beast had pried its way through the crack all the way to its waist, and began to claw at the bleachers as spectators huddled in the corners, shrieking and clutching each other in an instinctive bid at comfort.

" _Damn it, not now!_ " Caspian agonized. He turned his gun on the Beowolf, firing shot after shot until it ceased to move, and began to dissolve. The ground shook, and Caspian heard a ferocious, unearthly roar from his side.

He whipped around just in time to take the beast's horn below his chestplate.

Caspian screamed in pain as it pierced his shirt, and he felt the needle-like tip stop on his skin. He was flung backward, flipping through the air for what felt like several seconds before slamming back to the ground, skidding and rolling as waves of cobalt aura crackled around him.

He ended up on his back, Undertow out of reach to his side. He gasped for breaths that would not come, still feeling the sharp pain of the monster's horn in his stomach. He felt at it. _Wet_. Grimacing, he looked at his hand, feeling a moment of relief to see his hand coated merely in mud.

His celebration was short-lived. He groaned in agony as the Bullfiend perched over him, crushing his right arm beneath its weight. He clawed feebly at its wrists, trying to free himself. The beast's grotesque face, the size of his torso, neared. Black sludge still seeped from its hollow eye socket. Caspian shuddered, feeling the creature's viscous drool dribble onto his neck. He smelled the stench of rot on the monster's hot, musty breath.

In a last resort, Caspian raised his armguard to shield his face. His teeth clamped down on the handle of a straight-bladed dagger, wrenching it from its sheath. He spat it out, snatching its handle from the air and driving the blade deep into the monster's remaining eye. Black sludge exploded onto his face and hand, and his ears were shattered by an agonized roar.

Caspian felt the weight let off his arm.

He pulled out from under the beast, making a mad dash for Undertow. He scooped his weapon from the ground as he sprinted, finally stopping to turn once he made it some distance away. He held down Undertow's trigger. The gun began to vibrate and hum, steam raising from its glowing barrel as energy gathered around it. He let fire a beam of focused energy into the monster's neck. Yet as his gun kicked, a sudden, torturous pulse worked its way down Caspian's arm, clutching his heart. He suddenly found himself unable to stand.

The last thing he saw within the greying edges of his vision was the Bullfiend fading away in the rain.


	7. Welcome to Sentinel

Caspian spent what was apparently the next couple of hours in varying states of consciousness.

His eyes opened just long enough to see a rugged-looking man with a scarred face and black hair pulled into a bun leaning over him. Caspian's sleeve rolled to his elbow, and a steel eye examined his arm. The man lacked Sentinel's security badge, and a dark cloak covered much of his body, but Caspian recognized him. Sure, he couldn't have fought back if the man was a stranger, given his state. But as he scooped him from the mud, Caspian felt a twinge of relief before drifting away again.

"He's alright. Not bleeding, but the bruising on his arm is bad," a gravelly voice commented. Caspian felt his weight transfer to something much softer than the cloaked man's arms. "Probably passed out from pain once the adrenaline wore off. Or the kick of his gun did it. Important thing is, he's alive."

"Oh, my baby!" his mother's voice wept in elation. Both voices were muffled, as if they spoke behind a closed door. Yet, Caspian distinctly remembered feeling his mother's arms around him. "Thank you, you and Kita both! Really, I... I can never thank you enough!"

"As head of security, this is simply my job. No thanks is necessary," a woman's voice responded. Ichigo's mother, Caspian guessed by the accent. A rare one, from the mountains of Northern Mistral. She paused. "...It is appreciated, though."

"She said it well," the gruff voice added. "Gotta give props to the kid though, he held his own against that thing. I can see a bit of his dad in him."

" _My dad... right._ "

Caspian's eyes opened once to an empty room. He felt safe, but the space seemed uninviting in a way. The chaste grey curtains were drawn over the window. A near-empty desk sat at the far corner accompanied by a minimalist chair. The walls, apart from those covered by cabinets above the desk, were a barren off-white. He was rigged to an array of wires and medical equipment, right arm secured by a sling and a cast. His eyes still could not stay open, and he drifted off once more.

He heard another voice. A man's he had heard many times before. He couldn't make out his uncle's words, but heard bouts of laughter perforate them every now and then.

A clear memory began to play out in Caspian's mind like a dream.

The Winter Holiday had just passed, Remnant's annual celebration of the end of the Great War just over a hundred years before. All of his friends had stayed overnight with their parents, and upon waking had found themselves trapped by nearly a foot of snow. His friends- Rowan, Ichigo, Laurel, and Lazula, gathered in the living room, playing a board game; the particular one he could no longer recall.

His father strode out from the kitchen, Holoband raised to his chin as he cut through the living room and into the hall. A hush fell over the boisterous crowd, the pounding of the Headmaster's cane on the hardwood floor filling the room with each of his labored steps.

"You... you what?" the Headmaster hissed. His eyes flicked to Caspian and the rest, then back to his door at the end of the hall. "No, no. I'm glad, this is just unexpected..."

His father took to his room for a few minutes, during which the game resumed and spirits lifted again. But with the unlocking of his door, another hush fell over the house. Everyone's eyes landed on the Headmaster, prompting an answer.

"That was Douglas," he spoke. "He wants to introduce you all to someone. They'll be here in about an hour."

Caspian awaited the knock on the door with bated breath. His father had been quiet since, the sole hint to the mystery guest's identity being " _one of Frontline's patients_." When the knock on the door came, Caspian spring up to meet it. Yet, his father was faster.

His uncle stood at the door, trying his best to hold back a grin. Behind him was a girl. She had a small frame and was rather short. Between boots, collared shirt, pale skin, stark hair and colorless eyes, she blended in with the snowy yard behind her. Her shirt and short denim overalls carried the creases of clothes fresh from the store. Caspian bid her a welcoming smile as their eyes met, but it faded as she stared at him without expression.

"Everyone," Uncle Douglas announced, indicating the girl. "This is Snow. She'll be living with Holly and I for the time being, at least until she enrolls in Sentinel with you." He smirked. "I hope you kids can play well together."

Caspian was crowded from behind, and heard a cascade of questions tumble down on the poor girl.

"How did you end up at Frontline?"

"You're coming to Sentinel with us?"

"Show us your weapon!"

"What's your semblance?"

Snow stepped into the doorway, looking at no one in particular. "My name is Snow Hudson. I was taken in by Frontline Biomedical Technology for treatment, and will be joining you in applying to Sentinel Academy. My weapon includes four hard-light dust configurations, taking the shape of a sword, military-grade dust rifle, an axe, and a whip. These configurations are labelled A through D, respectively. My semblance allows me to analyze nearly all of an object's physical properties, such as mass, velocity, and chemical composition."

The room was quiet.

"Well, i-it's nice to meet you, Snow," Caspian concluded.

Her head turned until she looked to him with a blank gaze. The white of her eyes struck him.

"It's nice to meet you as well."

The next thing Caspian remembered, after realizing Snow was even more awkward around new people than he, was Snow leaving the room to consult with his father. Uncle Douglas sat down, wringing his hands and leaning in with an uncharacteristically serious look painting his face.

"I want you all to know something about Snow," Douglas murmured. "I deal more with the... technology side of things at Frontline, but she's suffered from one of the most serious cases of abuse I've seen in my time there. It's taken her a month just to get cleared for release."

The room responded with nods of understanding.

"I hope you can all be friends. But... it would be best if you guys didn't ask her much about her past."

The honking sound of a chair scooting across the ground scraped the memory from Caspian's mind.

"Oops."

Caspian's eyes blinked open, again revealing the unwelcoming room. He looked to his side to see his uncle, hand resting on the back of the chair. He stepped around the front of the seat, and sat next to Caspian's bedside facing him. Caspian wouldn't have preferred anyone else at the moment. Uncle Doug was like a second father to him, one far more empathic than the first. Sure his work at Frontline -whatever it was- kept him busy, and he always made a point to put his wife first, but he always had time for Caspian.

"Good morning," he greeted with a wry smile.

"It's not actually morning, is it?" Caspian grumbled, rubbing an eye. He looked to Uncle Doug. "And where am I?"

"You're in Sentinel's infirmary," Douglas informed. "And no, you've been unconscious for a little over two hours."

Sentinel's infirmary. Caspian figured if he had been seriously injured, he would have been taken to Frontline's main hospital, just a couple of miles away at the tip of Port Cyrreine's Northern peninsula. But still, whether due to the cast or his injury, he could barely move his arm. With any twitch of the finger, a nagging, dull, ache would spread from wrist to elbow.

"...Did I break my arm?"

Uncle Douglas shook his head. "When your mom stopped by earlier, she checked you out. She said a couple of ligaments got twisted up in your elbow, and there were some bone bruises down your arm. You should be fine to go to the Entrance Ceremony tonight."

Caspian's functional hand gripped the blankets at his waist, and he looked wistfully to the foot of his bed.

"I don't want to go."

Douglas sighed. "Don't you want to support your friends?" he prompted.

"I do, and I'm glad they got in, but..." Caspian shook his head gently. "I don't know. I just really don't want to watch all the other people who did."

Douglas nodded. He unstrapped his Holoband from his wrist, unravelling it until it lay flat on the table beside Caspian's bed. A screen blinked to life between the two of them. "Maybe this'll change your mind," he offered. He leaned into his Holoband.

"Show news for Port Cyrreine."

The screen paused for a bit before showing two news anchors at a table, with a smaller screen imposed behind them. "Frightening moments on the campus of Sentinel Academy today, as a second Grimm attack occurs less than twenty-four hours after the first," the anchor reported.

The co-host chimed in. "This Grimm attack happened at the end of Sentinel's Final Entrance Examination. While no one was killed or seriously injured, thousands were forced to flee as the Creatures of Darkness descended on the area just North of Sentinel Stadium."

"Headmaster Skye's safety measures, along with Frontline Biomedical's Organic Androids and several huntsmen are credited with saving countless lives today. However, there is one more hero getting some special attention after today's events."

The miniature screen behind the two overtook them. A man in a blue raincoat offered a microphone to another man, whose hoodie had soaked through in the rain.

"Yeah, we- we were stuck in the stands, with this huge Grimm between us and the exit," he began, hands flailing with each animated word. "I-I-I looked to my wife and said, 'th-this might be it, I love you.' but- but just then, this kid comes out of the training grounds, I don't know if he was late or what, and he starts fighting the thing. Without him, I'm not sure if I'd be here."

The screen switched to a woman holding a bright umbrella. "Yes, I think he should get in! I think fighting a _real_ Creature of Grimm and saving _real_ people is as good a practical exam as any, and he passed."

"Wait, am... am I..." Caspian stumbled. He felt silly even daring let the words leave his lips.

"I can't guarantee you'll get in," Douglas said. "But, your dad isn't as ' _by the books_ ' as he lets on these days. He might make a special case for you." He stood suddenly, strapping his Holoband back to his wrist and checking the time. "I won't force you to go. But if you do, I'd start getting ready as soon as you can. It's in an hour, and seeing as no one has been let out of the stadium since the attack, all the good seats are just about gone. You might want to wash yourself off a bit, too. Showers are at the end of the hall."

* * *

Caspian had seen the hulking Sentinel Stadium from the outside, but his first time inside, he felt utterly dwarfed. A wall of spectators surrounded the center, their collective chatter coalescing into a roar. The lucky ones, Caspian noticed, sat in the arena, in rows between him and a temporary stage. A square of screens hovered dozens of feet above, flashing advertisements and promotions.

"You were right about the good seats filling up..." Caspian noted, walking down the steps and scanning for enough uncomfortable plastic seats for him, his Uncle Douglas, and Aunt Holly.

Douglas pointed to a trio of seats a couple of rows down, next to the aisle. "Ah, what about there?"

Caspian would have preferred not sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with a stranger, but the redheaded woman with impeccable posture seemed good enough a neighbor. She paid him little mind as he sat next to her, even as he examined her unusual uniform. It was one he would expect of some fancy company's secretary. Maybe she just got off work, he guessed.

She turned ever slightly, allowing Caspian a glimpse at her side opposite him. Written in slim black letters, the words "Frontline Biomedical" adorned her chest.

" _What?_ "

Caspian couldn't stop himself from whispering the word in disbelief. The android woman looked at him without a hint of expression. His eyes met hers. Something about their stony grey gaze seemed so... _human_. Of course he knew Organic Android skin, hair, and eyes were grown from human stem cells- hence the "Organic" in their name, but this woman looked like any other in the crowd.

Her gaze remained on him for an uncomfortable amount of time. He could feel it on him as he looked back to the stage, begging the ceremony to begin. He knew she couldn't think. She couldn't be made to feel uncomfortable by his gaze, nor could she be annoyed. Her stare carried no cognition whatsoever. The stare of a mindless computer collecting data.

Finally, the lights dimmed, and the ceremony began.

The announcement of teams dragged on for some time, each name coupled with a bout of cheers from somewhere in the crowd, and each team coupled with a more general applause. The squirrel faunus and her partner got in, Caspian noticed. He felt happy for them. Yet with each team the Headmaster announced, and every name that wasn't his, his flicker of hope dwindled.

"This brings us down to the last two teams," the Headmaster announced. "Lazula Skye, Snow Hudson, Laurel Verdi, and Ichigo Kurayami. Would you four please come to the stage?"

Lazula strode up, with Snow behind her. More cheered for them than anyone prior, probably owing to Lazula's celebrity status. Laurel smiled as she followed, and Ichigo glanced at the onlookers, filling in behind her.

"After seeing the teamwork you four exhibited in the Final Entrance Examination, and how hard you fought during the Grimm attack after, I simply couldn't let you end up on different teams. During your time at the Academy, you will work under the name Team LSLI; lead by Lazula Skye."

The stadium erupted with cheer. Lazula drank it in, smirking and staring down the camera drone that hovered in front of the four. Her cape flowed behind her as she cleared the stage.

"And finally, I call Rowan Brown, Lilliane Corvis-Braun, and Noxis Orion to the stage."

Caspian blinked. There were only three of them. Lilly, rising onto the balls of her feet to brush sand from Rowan's nose. Rowan, complaining about the sand in his hair and clothes. And Noxis, crossing his arms and looking as if he'd rather be with anyone else. Caspian turned to his uncle, whose lips let on the beginnings of a smile.

"You three passed Sentinel's Final Entrance Exam quite handily," the Headmaster began. "But, as you may realize, there are only three of you standing on the stage right now."

A spotlight shone on Caspian, and a pair of drones gathered a couple of arms' lengths away. His heart began to pound as he realized his shocked face was on the screen, displayed to thousands in the stadium, and countless more watching from home all across Vale.

"During the attack today, something happened. Facing down danger and the very real possibility of death, this young man was given a choice. He chose to fight. I believe his actions today saved numerous lives, and exhibited exactly what it means to be a huntsman."

Caspian felt a stinging in his nose, and blinked away the beginning of tears. " _Don't cry. Don't cry_ ," he recited. " _Oh gods, how many people are going to see me cry?_ "

"Caspian Skye, please come down to the stage."

Uncle Douglas clapped Caspian on the back as he passed into the aisle, and Aunt Holly grabbed his hand with a smile. As the stadium erupted with applause, Caspian walked down the stairs in quick, measured steps, finally reaching the arena and stage.

"You made it, man!" Rowan cheered.

"Congratulations!" Lilly beamed.

"After seeing you step up to face the Bullfiend, there was no doubt in my mind I would allow you admission into the academy," the Headmaster stated. "During your time here, you will work under the name Team CRLN, led by Caspian Skye."

" _Lead by?_ " Caspian reflected. " _...I couldn't have heard that right._ "

" _Lead by?_ Is this a _joke?_ " Noxis spat.

His words were lost in the roar of the crowd. From where Caspian stood, the stands seemed so much taller than before. The wall of spectators was over a hundred feet tall, maybe two. Shutter flashes blinked across the crowd like a swarm of fireflies. He looked down. Even his sister applauded him. Ichigo, Laurel, and Snow sat with her; and Lilly and Rowan stood to his side.

The tears he had fought to hold back all broke free at once, and he hid his face from the world.


	8. Making a Statement

"Okay, let's go ahead and get started for the day!" Professor Corvis-Braun began eagerly. Caspian looked to the lecture hall's stage, where Lilly's mother peeked over the podium. Whenever Caspian had seen the diminutive, feathery-haired woman in the past, she wore some stylish mixture of cardigan, blazer, skirt, sweater, vest, and tights. Her outfit never strayed away from moody hues of black, white, midnight blue, and silver. Apparently, her work attire was no exception.

"Welcome to your first day of Interspecies History!" the professor announced. A pair of dark eyes flicked to the full rows of long, rounded tables forming eight half-circles up to the back of the room. "I'm Professor Corvis-Braun, but you can call me Professor Corvis if it's easier. Or Professor Braun, I love my husband. This class has the reputation of being a bit dry, especially at a school that teaches Grimm Studies and Practical Weapons Training. But! It's important. Plus, every year I've had a handful of students that really take to this class, so that might end up being you!" She took a sip from her water before continuing. "This is a special year for me, because my own daughter happens to be in this room! I won't call her out, but-"

Lilly smiled and turned, waving to the rows behind her.

"Oh! Well then, that's her," Professor Corvis confirmed above a chorus of laughter and "aww"-s. "Anyway, though faunus are equal in law now, and a big city like this sees very little overt racism, we're living in quite an important time right now. Can anyone tell me why this class has become so relevant?"

After several seconds, she pointed to a hand toward the back of the room.

"The Red Claw?"

Professor Corvis-Braun pulled back a bit in surprise. "Yes! I mean, that wasn't the answer I was looking for, but that's an important issue we'll cover in depth starting next week. Any other answers? Good answer, by the way."

At the furthest section of the room, a few rows back, Noxis raised his hand. Professor Corvis called on him.

"I wouldn't count them as a species," Noxis began, leaning back in his chair. "But are you talking about Organds?"

By the end of his first lecture at Sentinel, Caspian's wrist burned from writing, and his stomach was empty. The beginning of class saw a quick, broad overview of course content, which eventually shifted into administrative and logistic details of the class. Professor Corvis finished with a minute to spare, just as the zipping and shuffling of all the backpacks in the room began to drown her out.

Caspian clutched his stomach. "Man, I'm hungry. After Grimm Studies, you guys wanna meet at The Roots?"

"I'm down. I'll ask Ichigo," Rowan agreed.

"I suppose I'll stop by for a bit," Lilly said. "I'm meeting a new friend later this afternoon, though."

Unease crept into Caspian's mind _. A new friend..._

" _Want to come to The Roots after next class?_ " Caspian typed into his Holoband. He looked across the room.

Noxis flashed his Holoband's screen, looking at it for a few seconds. He shut it off, slung his bag over a shoulder, and made his way out the door.

As Cedar Hall, Sentinel's first-year dormitory building, was built into the side of the steep hill holding the academy above the bay, The Roots Cafe was below ground level on one side, but well above the street on the other. One wall was almost entirely windows, revealing the impressive view from shopping center to the North, to the flat tract of land across the street that held the SFC, sports fields and sparring courts to the South. Looming furthest away, against a backdrop of skyscrapers and sea, was Sentinel Stadium.

The Roots itself was quite cozy, Caspian thought. The side furthest from the windows was a winding maze of counters and kiosks. It got fairly busy at dinner, but the food seemed decent so far, a selection from all over Remnant. Toward the windows, comfortable booths and tables in many shades of brown found space among gently curving half-walls and wooden pillars. At each end of the cafeteria was a near-abstract mural of huntsmen and Grimm.

The day after initiation, Rowan found a round table nestled in a half-circle alcove facing the window. Every meal since, he had refused to sit anywhere else.

"The flesh of Frontline Biomedical Technology's Organic Androids is created from human stem cells. The 'organic components,' as they are called, are mounted onto a titanium alloy and carbon-fiber frame, making Organic Androids nearly indistinguishable from humans," Caspian read. "Though they look much like us, what would be their brain is actually called a 'Brain-Core System.' The 'core,' in the android's chest, handles power and low-level internal functioning. The 'brain,' in the android's head, allows for higher-level processing. However, it should be noted both brain and core are incapable of thought and emotion."

Caspian looked up to Lilly expectantly.

"I see..." she pondered. "I think you do a wonderful job of setting up the issue, and differentiating between Organd and human. However, I fail to see the main point of your paper. I believe it would be helpful if you transitioned into your main point from what you have now." She looked to him. "Do you have any ideas?"

Caspian pursed his lips. "Hmm... I guess, I'll talk about how people generally respect Frontline because of its medical advancements, but there's a lot of distrust toward Organds." He looked up from his screen. "People don't like things that look so human and... _aren't_."

"Why'd your mom have to go and assign a paper on the first day of class?" Rowan complained. "Always seemed like a nice lady, but that's just cruel."

Lilly's lips drew up in a muted smile of amusement. "It's only two to three pages, and is worth a very small portion of your grade," she reminded. "This is more a measure of your starting point than anything. Have you started?"

"It's due Monday, right?"

"Yes."

"Nope. I think I'll start Saturday. Maybe Sunday," Rowan responded. He tore into his sandwich.

"I think I'll distinguish between combat models and companion models too, because their internal coding and ability to fight is different enough to note," Caspian commented, leaning into his laptop.

"What about third gen Organds?" Ichigo inquired.

"They're not out yet. I might mention them, but I don't think I know enough to say much about them..."

Rowan raised a finger, gulping down an ambitious bite of his lunch. "You hear that the third gen ones are gonna be able to eat? Isn't that weird?"

"They can't digest though, what happens to the food?" Ichigo questioned.

"Damn, good question," Rowan admitted. He flicked on his Holoband, typing up a search.

"We're eating," Lilly reminded. "Perhaps we should leave this question for later?"

"...So who's the new friend, Lilly?" Caspian asked, attempting to pass off his budding jealousy as innocent curiosity.

Lilly smiled gently. "Her name is Aspen. She's a second-year, we happened to run into each other when I was exploring the campus libraries."

_Good. A girl._

Lilly looked down to her Holoband in surprise, and switched it on. "Oh, that's her right now!" she announced. She dabbed at her lips with a napkin, and shuffled across the half-circle booth until she was free of the table.

"I'll see you later!" Caspian bid with a grin.

Lilly waved, and was on her way.

"Y'know, one of these days it won't be a girl!" Rowan chided.

Caspian balled a napkin in his fist. "I know..."

"When are you gonna make your move? Sentinel's full of dudes. I'm just trying to help you along! You've got that 'childhood friend' thing going for you, but-"

"Can we please talk about _anything_ else?"

* * *

Sentinel's dorms were a rough transition for Lazula. She had grown so used to her plush bed, giant bathtub in a bathroom with marble floor and golden faucets, and gourmet food whenever she liked. Now in the land of shared showers, standard-issue mattresses, and long lines in The Roots, at least getting up for her morning routine was easier.

Only a few days in, Lazula fell into her routine. Every morning, she would wake exactly at six. She would grab a healthy bite, and run the trail around Sentinel's campus. The loop was almost exactly two miles, so would take eleven or twelve minutes. Then to the Student Fitness Center right as it opened, when no one was around to gawk at her, or the weight she put on bar and machine alike. She would be back before nine to shower and take a second breakfast, making it just in time for her first class.

Classes had just concluded for the day, so the SFC was a bit more crowded than usual. Lazula walked up to the front desk, nodding to the attendant as she neared.

"Where can I find the Sparring Team?" she asked. "I heard there's a meeting here today."

"Oh, that would be..." the student at the front desk began. He keyed a search into the computer. "Room 202. Right up those stairs, first court on the left."

"Thanks." Raising her wrist up to the sensor, her Holoband pulsed once with vibration, and the hard-light door allowed her through. She went to the locker room first, donning her combat attire in its entirety before continuing onto room 202.

"As is the case every year, let's start by talking recruitment," a young man's voice declared from behind the door. Strong, but friendly. Lazula had heard the voice before. "Cole is already working on designing flyers, and I'd like to start handing them out in front of the library starting next week. I'll also ask the Headmaster if-"

The door shut loudly behind Lazula, drawing everyone's eyes to her. One hand rested on Impetus's hilt as Lazula locked eyes with the man, cocking her head back ever slightly.

"I challenge you to a duel."

He cracked a grin. The same impossibly white, straight-toothed smile that decorated Sentinel's promotional material, and advertisements for countless brands having nothing to do with huntsmen. His hair was styled just as neat as the pictures, a close shave on the sides and back of his head, with hair in front and top swept to the side in golden waves, one unruly lock drooping to his brow. She had never realized how thoroughly dark his eyes were.

"And here I was, wondering how long I should wait for you to settle in before challenging you," Midas welcomed. "I admire your initiative."

"I'm a twelve-time tournament champion at a new school with some of the strongest huntsmen in Vale," Lazula reminded. "It only makes sense I challenge the very strongest one here, and beat him."

Midas's smile continued. "Well, then. I accept your challenge."

Lazula drew Impetus from its sheath, positioning her feet and staring down her opponent.

"...After our warm-ups, of course!"

Lazula's shoulders sunk, and she sheathed her blade.

"Sure."

After a quick jog down to the water's edge and back, and a bit of dynamic stretching, Lazula and the rest of the Sparring Team returned to their room in the SFC. She had been sizing up Midas from the moment she agreed to warm up. She knew he fought with Resplendence, a halberd that unfolded into a bow, and channeled the electricity Midas produced with his semblance. He was well built but still looked nimble, and kept up with her on the run down to the water. He had a height advantage of over half a foot.

"By default, Sparring Team matches use a safety parameter of twenty percent. Is that alright?" Midas asked.

"Seems fair."

"Good." Midas pinched the screen he projected from his Holoband and flicked it upward. It hit a strange metallic structure suspended from the ceiling, and two screens flashed above the pair, displaying their names, pictures, and aura level.

Midas and Lazula took their places at opposing ends of the court. "It's too bad we're inside," Lazula said. "I'll have to hold back a bit if I don't want to break something."

Midas grinned. "I can hold back too! It's only fair."

Lazula shook her head. "That won't be necessary."

The excited buzz of the room quieted as a girl in robes of silvery blue stepped between them. "This is an impromptu sparring match between Team Captain Midas Baine, and challenger Lazula Skye," she announced. "The first combatant to decrease their enemy's aura level to twenty percent, or the combatant with highest aura level after five minutes, will be declared winner." She turned to Midas, then Lazula. "The match will begin after a ten second countdown."

As the clock began to count down, Lazula unsheathed Impetus, hearing the familiar, comforting sound of steel leaving its sheath. She pointed it at the ready, lowering her head.

As soon as she heard the tone, Lazula tore toward Midas. He stood his ground, halberd at the ready. Lazula smirked. " _People should know by now that some attacks are just too strong to parry_ ," she thought. She swung her blade across her body, but slashed through air.

Midas had spun around the side of her attack, and she felt a heavy strike down her back. Before she could turn, Midas spun his weapon and jabbed her spine, flinging her forward as she yelped with surprise and pain.

 _No one had hit her like that in a while_ , she recalled. Her first tournament? Or was it the second, down in Vacuo? It didn't matter now.

"No way! Look at her aura!" a voice called from the crowd.

"Ninety-five percent?! After a hit like _that?_ "

She ducked under a slash parallel to the floor, pivoting into Midas and springing up with a vicious bash by Aegis. She slashed twice as he was knocked off balance, but her third swing was met by the shaft of his weapon. Cracking a grin, Midas channeled electricity down the length of his arm and into his weapon.

Lazula ripped Impetus away just as electricity began to course its way into Resplendence. She flung his weapon away and met him with an elbow to the chestplate before spinning and knocking him back with her shield. Midas slid backward, and used the distance between them to transform his weapon into a bow. He drew as Lazula ran forward, but at the last minute lowered his shot and let fly a bolt of lightning into Lazula's boots.

Electricity crackled across the ground as Lazula leapt over the attack, and crashed down on Midas with her blade. As his weapon rose to meet hers she channeled her semblance, taking his resistance into her own swing and amplifying it. Resplendence gave way, and Lazula slashed across his chest.

Midas's recovery was impressive. By the time Lazula swung back at him, he regained focus and parried her strike. A second and a third attack were met as well. Lazula took a split second to drop back and regain her focus before lunging at the golden-haired huntsman once more. " _He's faster than me,"_ Lazula realized. No matter how quickly she attacked, Midas's spinning of body and weapon alike caught her blade and tossed it back.

Finally, Impetus swung into Resplendence's axehead. Midas grinned, twisting his weapon until her blade was locked in his. Electricity crackled around him once more as Lazula attempted to rip her weapon free to no avail. She felt heat on her hands, then a seizing of her muscles, as if some searing entity inside of her arm controlled it from within. She let go of Impetus, and the Sparring Team scattered as the blade was flung their way. Midas turned and brought the head of Resplendence down on his unarmed foe.

Lazula blocked the attack with Aegis. Channeling as much of her semblance as she deemed safe, she wrenched her arm outward. Midas's armor crushed with the weight of her blow. He was flung back, providing Lazula an opening to retrieve Impetus.

She eyed the screen above her as she picked up her blade. She had been hit a few more times since, but her aura was still above ninety percent. Midas's hovered just over forty. The huntsman panted at the far side of the room, shoulders hunched. Letting out one last breath, he straightened and transformed Resplendence back into a bow.

Lazula raised Aegis to block a lightning bolt, then a second. She ran forward, keeping an eye out for more as she approached. She and Midas were locked in combat for several more seconds, before Midas ducked under one of her swings, and spun on the floor in an attempt to sweep her feet from under her.

Lazula buried Impetus's tip, vaulting over Midas's attack. She took its force into her blade and channeled it into her legs, blasting Midas with a potent kick to the gut. He rolled into the nearest wall, losing Resplendence. Lazula jumped after him, finishing their fight with a final strike.

The Sparring Team broke into hoots and cheers of excitement. With one foot on the ground, Lazula stepped on Midas's chestplate, bringing Impetus's tip dangerously close to his throat.

Her triumphant glare softened. She sheathed her weapon and extended a hand.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" she asked as Midas took her hand. "That last hit was a bit much for how much aura you had left."

Midas met her worry with an easy smile as he walked over to grab Resplendence. "No need to worry about me, I'm durable!"

Lazula huffed in amusement. "You're not bad. That was fun." She looked to the crowd that began to fill the sparring court, then back to Midas. "How do I join the team?"

Midas shook his head with another smile.

"After a fight like that, you're in."


	9. Biscuits, Tea, and the State of Humanity

"...So yeah! Back in the day, there was a species of Grimm that could drain your will to do just about anything, leaving your body to atrophy until it eventually just shut down entirely!" the always upbeat professor Brown concluded, her ponytail bouncing with her enthused words. "None of that will be on the test, but I just thought that was a cool little story!"

The bell rang, signalling the end of Intro to Grimm Studies. Caspian joined the others in closing his books, packing up his things, and zipping rain coat all the way to his neck. He planned to do the usual for a weekday, grab lunch with his friends in The Roots, get a bit of homework done alone, and spend the rest of the day back with Ichigo, Rowan, and Snow.

"Hey. Lilly," a voice grunted.

Caspian and Lilly both started with surprise. Towering over the two a row back was Noxis, stony gaze locked on the one he called.

"Yes?" Lilly prompted.

"Are you free? Let's grab some tea."

Caspian's heart felt as if it struck the inside of his ribcage. He kept his gaze down, jaw threatening to shatter his teeth with how hard it clenched.

"Ah, there actually is a place I've been meaning to try!" Lilly responded. "It's a bit North of campus but just a block or two away from a Link stop, so we should stay mostly out of the rain!"

"That works. I want to drop off my bag, so let's meet at the stop near Cedar," Noxis confirmed. Without another word, he turned and joined the crowd draining out of the lecture hall and into the storm. Lilly followed, then Rowan. Biting his lip and strapping up his backpack, Caspian joined with dragging feet.

The doors opened to Sentinel's Blue Square, often regarded as the center of campus. Students crossed the square in every direction, some coming out of the lecture hall behind the three, others going in. To their right was Slate Library. Its first floor was an open study space, with tables and chairs surrounding an abstract statue that spiralled up to the ceiling between the rings of mezzanines making up the second and third floors. Directly across the square was Skye Hall. A bit conceited of his dad, Caspian thought, naming the infirmary and main administrative tower after himself. But he earned the right to sit in his office, two hundred feet above the rest of campus. Between Skye Hall and the other main lecture hall to their left was a set of stairs lowering down toward the flowers and fountain of Halfmoon Plaza. No buildings had been built between those stairs and downtown Port Cyrreine a mile and a half across the bay, gifting the square a gorgeous view of the city, day and night.

"I was with Aspen until so late last night, I needed something to pick me up like this!" Lilly commented from under her umbrella.

"You sure are popular!" Rowan teased. He cocked his head with a mischievous smile. "Hey, if Noxis and Aspen fought over you, who would win?"

"Oh, stop," Lilly dismissed. "Aspen is a friend, and this is just going to be two partners getting to know each other."

"...It's not a date?" Caspian managed.

Lilly shook her head. "It's not. And if it was, I would politely decline. He doesn't seem much my type."

" _What_ is _her type?_ " Caspian wondered.

* * *

"I'd like the lavender chamomile, please," Lilly asked of the bunny-eared waitress. "I had been looking for cafés nearby since before coming to Sentinel, I'm so very excited to try this one!"

"Well, I hope we can live up to your expectations!" the waitress returned with a smile, entering a note into her Holoband. The stone fireplace ignited behind her as she turned to Noxis. "And what would you like?"

"Oolong."

"Ah. Good choice," the waitress affirmed. "Anything else?"

"I think that will be it for now, thank you," Lilly concluded. She brushed a white lock of curly frizz from her face, then folded her hands on the table. "So, did you ask me here for a reason?"

"Yeah. You seem like the only other one on our team who has any common sense," Noxis responded. "I want to pick your brain a little bit."

"Well, then. Pick away," Lilly invited.

"What do you think of this city?"

"This city?"

"Yes, Port Cyrreine."

Lilly bid a slight smile, looking to a painting mounted on the mahogany-panelled wall. "I grew up nearby, and have many good memories here, so I'm quite fond of it. The city really is quite beautiful."

Noxis looked dissatisfied with her answer.

"And you? What do you think?" Lilly inquired.

"This city makes me sick."

Several uneasy gazes flicked to him. He hadn't made any effort to keep his voice down, after all. As the waitress returned with their tea, the eyes turned away.

"It was little more than a handful of ports before Frontline built their headquarters here. This city is built on greed, and it's plain to see. Have you ever been in the Eastern Docks district?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"I'm not surprised," Noxis replied, slightest twinge of irritation in his voice. "Highest crime rate in all of Vale. Mean income? A third of what it is up here in the North, just a couple of miles away. You can't walk a block without seeing some addict passed out halfway in the street- or worse. It's worse than Mistral's slums these days. Worse than Mantle."

Lilly took a sip of her tea, and bowed her head. "It's... an unfortunate situation, yes."

Noxis's eyes narrowed. "An unfortunate situation? These are peoples' _lives_ in this city,'' he growled. "All while Griswold Baine sits in his tower, watching over the place like he owns it, and building Organds to take more jobs from the people of Vale. He'd let the entire kingdom go to shit if it meant more money in his pocket."

"Of all companies, even just those based here, it seems odd you should take issue with Frontline," Lilly asserted.

Noxis raised a brow.

"They have done far more good than harm," Lilly stated. "Frontline's scientists have developed cures for _multiple_ diseases previously thought incurable. Much of the money they make goes to funding further research, and-"

"What they're doing is unnatural."

"Excuse me?"

"Organds make humanity weak," Noxis snarled. "Their use in security has rendered the few who still choose to be huntsmen useless, unless they go into that corporatized professional league." He took a deep breath, then returned to his point seemingly angrier than before. "The Creatures of Grimm are humanity's predator. People have grown complacent with the creation of those... _glorified computers_ , and have forgotten how to defend themselves. Organds shouldn't exist."

"I see..." Lilly offered.

"Have you heard of natural selection?" Noxis continued.

"I'm familiar with the basic idea, yes."

"Then you'll know that in the natural world, those with some advantage over their peers will survive to pass their genes to the next generation more often?"

Lilly nodded. "That's how species evolve, yes."

"Well, in Frontline's care, we've created a world with no place for natural selection. All can survive and pass their genes on, no matter how slow, sickly, or unworthy. We've stunted our own evolution."

Lilly looked down to her tea, then side-eyed out the window, pursing her lips. She took a breath of pause. "The question as to what constitutes ' _worthy_ ' of passing on genes aside, I fail to see how Frontline curing illness has ceased our evolution," she debated. She looked up. "On the day mankind first created weapons, and harnessed the power of dust to defend themselves against Grimm, did they become weaker? By your logic, it would seem so. But I daresay this allowed humans to survive longer and reproduce at a greater rate; biologically making them a more fit species."

"Weapons are different. They're simply a tool humans use in order to ensure their survival," Noxis explained.

"You've previously called Organds 'computers.' How is this not a tool?" Lilly inquired. She took a sip of her tea, waiting for a response that did not come. "Left only to their strength, without weapons or dust, not even the most physically gifted human can hope to compete with nature's top predators, nor the Creatures of Grimm. The human body is simply weaker. Human evolution is through the mind. With all its advancements, Frontline Biomedical is evidence we are evolving more rapidly than ever before."

"I..." Noxis began.

Lilly smiled politely, straightening up in her seat. "The tea here is quite good, wouldn't you agree? I'd like to return sometime."

Noxis bolted upright, the pounding of his boots on the hardwood floor drawing half the eyes in the café. Lilly held her cup to steady it against the shaking of the table. The wolf faunus plunged his hand into his pocket, and slapped a few one-lien notes on the table in front of her.

"This should cover mine. Goodbye."


	10. Capture the Flag

Teams CRLN and LSLI sat side by side, joining Sentinel's other first year teams in filling the stands of Sentinel's practice area. Caspian looked to the center of the horseshoe, remembering vividly his fight with the Bullfiend. The barrier had been fixed, and painstaking work had been done over the last few weeks to ensure no Grimm still lingered on the island, but Caspian couldn't shake the thought of the beast's crushing weight on his arm, its foul breath on his cheek.

"As you are all aware," Headmaster Skye began to speak, "Today marks the first of many mandatory training sessions you will participate in during your time at Sentinel. Please, allow the Headmistress and I to explain your task."

"The most simple way to explain this is as a game of capture the flag," the Headmistress chimed in. "Your team will be randomly assigned to face off against one other. Bring the enemy's flag back to your side, and you will be victorious. Though it is not the focus of this exercise, eliminating all members of the opposing team will result in a victory as well. Safety parameter will be set at twenty percent, as it will be in all future training exercises."

On the screen above the couple, a map of the practice island displayed, with five zones outlined in bright blue. "In the interest of time, we've prepared five courses, into which you will be randomly assigned. So you do not accidentally end up in another team's game, the boundaries will be explicitly marked," Headmaster Skye continued. The screen above zoomed into the first zone. Eight blank squares sandwiched the screen, four on top and four below.

"Combat assignment for the first set of teams begins now," the Headmistress stated. With her words, a set of faces appeared.

The faces of Teams CRLN and LSLI.

Caspian blinked, and looked to the screen again. Lazula's hazel glare stared back. He looked to his side, where the first traces of a smile showed on his sister's lips.

" _This can't be real._ "

"Ohhhhh, shoot!" Rowan exclaimed. He clapped Caspian on the back. "You ready to fight your sister? I'm not!"

"Yeah, no," Caspian replied. The screen shifted to display the second zone within the city, and Caspian gestured to it. "Is there no way to trade? This team... BLCM looks a bit more promising."

* * *

Caspian's Holoband provided he and his team directions to their flag, at the top floor of the shell of a building. It looked to be modelled after some kind of office, though by design the interior was gutted and the walls threatened to crumble. Caspian stood in front of the strange-looking cylindrical object he and his team had to protect, analyzing a holographic map of the course.

He let out a deep breath, shaking his head slightly. "There's no way my sister doesn't play this aggressively," he analyzed. "I see two possibilities. Either she sends Snow, Laurel, and Ichigo to us and stays back as her team's last line of defense, or she leads a full assault on us. Either way, we need to play defensively. If we're able to thin out their numbers before fighting head-on, we'll have more of a chance."

Noxis's tail lashed. "So, you're trying to win this thing by assuming we can't beat them?" he questioned. "Pitiful."

"We can't beat them in a one-to-one fight," Caspian argued.

"Speak for yourself," Noxis spat. "As soon as the match starts, I'm leaving. Follow me."

" _Please,_ stay back with us," Caspian pleaded. "We'll thin out their numbers, and-"

"They'll come here and thin _us_ out, if you're so intent on losing to them," Noxis interrupted. "I'm not going to sit around here and wait for that."

"I-I'm sorry, but I think you might be underestimating Lazula," Caspian replied.

"It seems like anyone can be a team leader at this school. I'm not afraid of her." Noxis turned his head. "Anyone else coming with?"

Lilly sighed. "I'm going to stay. Dust may be useful in defending the flag."

"Yeah, I'm with Lilly and Cas on this one," Rowan added. "Cas's strategy is-"

"Of course you are," Noxis growled. "Guess I'll win it myself, then. It'll be easier alone anyway."

* * *

Team LSLI's flag sat on the roof of a mid-rise, near the edge of the abandoned city zone. After locating the flag, Lazula took a second to examine her surroundings. Directly in front of her, a swath of pine gave way to a craggy mountain face. To her other side was the rest of the city. She couldn't tell from where she stood which of the buildings held Team CRLN's flag, but finding it would be easy enough once the match started, especially with the area map uploaded to her Holoband.

"So... what's the plan?" Laurel asked, leaning against a vent. "Just send Lazula at them and win?"

Lazula let out a light chuckle as her team looked to her. "Actually, more or less, that's my idea," she said. "Noxis is a bit of an unknown, but I'm confident I can beat any of them."

"All at once?" Laurel questioned. "You win one-on-one, easy. But if you end up against their whole team, you sure you'll be fine?"

"I'll be fine," Lazula assured. "More enemies just means more force to deflect."

"Want me to ping their Holobands?" Ichigo asked. "There's probably some kind of jamming signal because _apparently_ hacking into animatronics during the entrance exam is frowned upon. But I can probably get past it if given enough time!"

Lazula shook her head. "No need. I'd rather have you patrolling the perimeter. And Laurel, you keep an eye out from up here. If you see any of them, contact Ichigo, and open fire."

"Got it," Laurel affirmed with a thumbs-up.

"Snow. You'll be our last line of defense," Lazula ordered. "Do _not_ let the flag out of your sight. We're stronger than they are, but Cas is clever."

"Understood."

"Good. I'll let you know if anything happens to me, or I reach their flag," Lazula stated. She looked from Snow to the others. "Let's move. If all goes according to plan, this will be an easy win."

* * *

The instant the training exercise began, Noxis pushed through a wall of his team's protests and into the broken streets. They were quiet, no signs of Lazula or the rest of her team. The faunus skirted the side of a structure, eyes flicking to the empty streets and ruined towers in front of him.

The wall just feet in front of Noxis shattered into a plume of dust and shrapnel. He flinched, raising his arms against the cinderblock fragments raining down on him as he finally heard the accompanying gunshot. He bared his teeth and flattened on the ground. He looked first to the gash carved out of the wall next to him, then scanned the rooftops and windows.

There, on the roof a couple of blocks away, a woman lined up another shot.

Noxis rolled behind a parked car, and braced his ears against a cacophony of shredding steel and shattering glass. Luckily, the bullet had lodged somewhere under the hood of the unfortunate sedan. Noxis dashed out from hiding and took off across the street, finding refuge in an alleyway. He took a few seconds to catch his breath, and chanced a peek around the corner. The woman's figure had moved to the front of the roof, and her eye lined up with her weapon's scope.

Noxis wrenched back around the corner, and another gunshot echoed through the street. A bullet screamed through the air where his head had been, clipping the corner and piercing a dumpster at the other side of the alley before clattering to rest inside. Noxis let out a breath of agitation, and ran down the alley, hoping to avoid more gunfire.

A floating red barrier lined up along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, where the city began to give way to forest. Noxis clung to the buildings' shadows out of the sniper's view as he approached Team LSLI's flag.

"I'm there. I think he's coming now," a hushed voice commented from around the nearest corner.

Noxis pulled his shotgun, Renegade, from its mount on his hip. Quieting his footsteps, he strode around the corner to find Ichigo with Holoband raised to his mouth.

"Okay, gotta go. I'll call you ba-"

A shotgun blast rang through Laurel's Holoband.

Ichigo had taken the brunt of the blast into his chest, knocking him to the ground. The attack had chunked his aura, leaving him already dangerously close to the safety parameter. Noxis cocked his gun and lined up a second shot, but lowered it as a makeshift shield against a barrage of shots from Ichigo. Noxis grit his teeth against the ones that whipped past his gun, pricking him like dozens of needles.

"You're wasting my time," Noxis hissed as he pushed against the bullets of dust. He transformed his weapon into a bat and swung. Ichigo managed to push Noxis's first swing to the side, but his elbows buckled under the weight of the faunus's second; a two handed bash over his head.

Noxis pulled his weapon back once more, but paused. A red X projected from Ichigo's wrist, signalling his aura to be under the safety parameter. Without chancing a second for the sniper to find him, Noxis continued onto his destination.

Finally, he arrived at the sniper's building. LSLI's flag was on the top floor, according to his map. Footsteps on the creaky wooden floorboards above broke the silence in the dark, dusty room. They were fast, from one corner to the other in a handful of seconds. Noxis pulled Renegade back out from its sheath, holding it at the ready and looking to the stairwell.

Noxis cracked a grin, and began to chuckle. He cocked his head back and slung Renegade over his shoulder, looking to the tall, tattooed woman who held her axe at the ready. "Just a few weeks in, and I already get the chance to bash your skull in," Noxis reveled. "What a treat, _Miss Verdi._ "

Laurel's eyes rolled up to meet Noxis's. "And who are you?"

"The son of one of your dad's old coworkers," Noxis growled. "Professor Corvis wrote a decent book. She could've done a better job at hiding the real Twilight Crusade's identities, though. Anyone with half a brain would realize your dad was the ' _Phantom_.'"

Laurel took a step back, eyes narrowing as she held Snake Eyes a bit closer. "And what is it I'm about to be blamed for?"

Noxis shook his head as he stepped closer. "Never knew exactly what happened. Just that when your dad jumped ship from the White Fang, the only person besides himself my dad ever came to care for was killed."

"And?"

"And he hasn't been sober a day since," Noxis spat. "He would beat me half to death on a whim before I unlocked my aura. The 'Phantom' betrayed the White Fang, and all these years later his daughter is born a snake faunus. Fitting."

"What my father did _years_ ago doesn't make me to blame for your daddy issues," Laurel retorted. "Now were you going to ' _bash my skull in?_ ' you'd better get on with it. Lazula's probably done with your teammates by now."

Noxis cocked Renegade. "With pleasure."

* * *

"Man, I kinda thought our first training exercise at Sentinel would be a little more exciting," Rowan complained. He looked out a shattered window. "Just a little arguing, and a lot of standing around."

"Perhaps Lazula decided to play this carefully as well," Lilly offered.

Caspian sighed, shaking his head. "...Did I make the right choice?" he asked no one in particular. "We really might have had a better chance if more of us went with him."

"Nah, he doesn't deserve that kind of credit," Rowan protested.

"There's no way of knowing what the 'right choice' was," Lilly reminded. Her smile caught Caspian off guard. "All we can do is our best."

Caspian returned Lilly's smile sheepishly before looking to the ground, and fidgeting in his coat pocket. His moment of reassurance was short-lived. A loud bang drew the attention of all three in the room, shaking the floor and rattling the fragile walls with its force.

It sounded as if a door had been kicked off its hinges on the ground floor. Then, silence.

"Want me to check it out?" Rowan whispered.

Caspian bit his lip, listening in for more sound. He finally shook his head. "It's best we stay in one place. It's open enough to fight in here, and the more people near the flag, the better."

"Got it," Rowan confirmed. He pulled Sanguine Storm from the sheath behind his hip, and pointed its tip to the stairwell. Caspian lined up Undertow, finger hugging its trigger. Lilly's hands folded on the grip of her weapon, Elysian Bloom, as she propped it up in front of her like a cane.

Caspian had grown up with his sister. He had seen her nearly every day of his life, and had countless memories with her. Yet, as she stood alone with sword unsheathed and shield at the ready, cape flowing in the draft from downstairs, he began to tremble.

Her very presence seemed far too much for one person.


	11. Bark and Bite

Noxis’s first blast was blocked by the broad side of Laurel’s axe, as was his second. Laurel sprung forward in the time it took Noxis to cock his gun and line up his third, forcing him to abandon the shot and instead raise his bat to block her swing. With a clash of steel, Noxis narrowly avoided a blade to his neck.

He swung back at Laurel as he regained his balance, but the attack and his next-- a more powerful, two-handed strike-- were both caught by the head of Laurel’s axe and deflected. The two clashed several more times, the raw power behind Noxis’s Renegade matching the weight of Laurel’s Snake Eyes.

“Is that all?” Laurel goaded, blocking an overhead swing with the shaft of her weapon. She pushed upward to free her weapon, but her subsequent swing across Noxis’s body was pushed back.

“You haven’t seen the start of it,” Noxis spat back. He swung again, narrowly missing both Snake Eyes and its wielder. He used a shotgun blast to propel himself forward, elbowing Laurel in the chest and landing a spinning strike across her head. 

The viper faunus staggered back. One hand still held Snake Eyes, the other clutched her forehead. She grit her teeth and lifted her weapon with just enough power to hold off another attack. Noxis didn’t let up, forcing Laurel to regain her composure. She spun her weapon above her head, eventually bringing her weapon down on Noxis. As he leapt back, she reversed her swing to chop upward, then spun it once more to whip the blunt shaft of her weapon across Noxis’s cheek. Planting a foot, she managed to meet the faunus with a staggering blow which knocked him off his feet, and freed Renegade from his grip.

Laurel smirked as she transformed Snake Eyes back into a sniper rifle, and aimed at the heap on the floor. Noxis pushed himself upright. His feet were wider than his shoulders and he hunched over, holding head in his hands. Laurel squeezed the trigger, and a thunderous gunshot rocked the walls.

Laurel lowered her weapon with a bewildered look.

A burst of grey fog exploded from Noxis, obscuring the wolf and whipping through Laurel’s hair. A red glow emanated from within, and as the fog began to dissipate its source was revealed. Noxis still stood, Laurel’s dust-infused bullet sitting innocuous on the floor next to his boot.

A layer of what could only be described as black armor encased his forearms, and protruded from the tip of each finger like claws. The armor itself looked solid but a thick black smoke lifted from it, shrouding the sparks of deep crimson crackling around it. Similar armor encased his neck and trailed down his back, sticking up like a mane of black fur. It traced up the back of his head, twisting until it formed two black ears folded backward.

“You’re an Awakened Faunus...” Laurel noted, holding her weapon as a barrier between the two.

Before she could pull her gun’s trigger, Noxis was upon her. She blocked his first swipe with Snake Eyes as she lifted it into its holster on her back, and lost a lock of hair to a second. She pulled a pair of pistols from her hip, ducking under his blows and firing two shots from each. 

A couple of the shots hit, but bounced off Noxis’s black aura with little effect. His claws tore across her chest twice, and he grabbed her by the neck as she shouted with pain. He stepped into her, tripping her up and slamming her into the ground hard enough to crack it.

Laurel’s chest heaved as aura crackled around her. The black armor surrounding Noxis began to fade, and without a word he continued up to the roof.

Snow stood guard at the top of the stairs. Her eyes moved from the floor below to the Holoscreen at her wrist, which displayed her teammates’ auras. Lazula’s was still full. Ichigo’s had dropped below twenty percent a few minutes before, but Laurel’s had dropped as well since Snow had last checked.

Footsteps from below. Snow turned off her Holoband and aimed her gun at the base of the stairs.

As soon as Noxis appeared, Snow held down the trigger. Bullets of focused dust shredded the railing, sending wooden splinters cascading down the steps. Snow paused after several seconds of the assault, listening for any sign of her opponent. A fragmented section of railing could no longer support its own weight, and fell away.

Snow took two steps down the stairs in pursuit, but paused. She looked back to the flag, blinked once, then turned back to guard it. 

“Come on, not gonna chase me?” a voice taunted from below.

“I have been told to keep my eyes on the flag at all times,” Snow replied. “And so I will.”

“It’s just me. The rest of my team was too chickenshit to follow.”

“I cannot know for sure you are telling the truth.”

Snow’s eyes narrowed, and her weapon’s sword configuration flashed from within the handle as boots pounded up the stairs towards her. She stepped forward into his attack, matching its power perfectly. The faunus fought to keep up with her, but was driven backward by each strike.

Snow pulled back, allowing for Noxis to do the same. The two lunged at each other, full power behind their blows. Snow’s weapon flashed as it struck Renegade, and she transformed it into its whip configuration. As she ducked to the side of the hefty steel bat, spiked white links of hard light wrapped it, then flung back across its owner’s chest and neck.

The white-haired huntress stomped as she swung with all of her might, launching Noxis dangerously close to the edge of the roof. Dust returned to her weapon, coalescing into the shape of an axe. Snow flipped through the air, slamming her blade down where the faunus lay in a daze not half a second before. She paid no mind to the new split in the roof, picking up her axe and spinning to swing it at her opponent once more.

Noxis lifted Renegade to block her swing, but as the weapons clashed, he inched closer to the roof’s edge.

“You trying to kill me?” he growled.

“I’m trying to get you away from the flag,” Snow explained flatly. “A fall from this height would not be lethal to a huntsman with unlocked aura, and would result in the greatest distance from the flag in the least amount of time.”

* * *

Caspian, Lilly, and Rowan stared down their enemy. Lazula’s eyes flicked between the three. Noxis must have gone alone, she figured. No matter. There was no way in her mind Noxis could fight all three of her teammates faster than she could beat the rest of Team CRLN.

The tip of Rowan’s Sanguine Storm pulled back, and blood red energy began to course throughout the weapon. “You may be strong,” he recognized. He let fly a blast of focused energy, which lit the dark room red. “But there’s no way you can resist this!”

Lazula raised Aegis, bending her knees and propping her spare hand up against the back of her shield. The blast slammed into her, pushing her back as it split down the middle and shredded the floor to both sides. Lazula still stood, unsheathing Impetus.

Rowan’s eyes widened, his jaw going slack. “...What?”

Lazula strode forward, shoulders square, with eyes locked on Caspian’s. The floor seemed to quake with each of her steps. Whether he imagined it or not, he could not know.

He let out a nervous chuckle. “You know, y-you don’t have to try so hard to intimidate me,” he jested. His smile faded a bit as his twin continued toward him. “You... kinda do it naturally.”

Lazula broke out into a run.

Caspian raised his blade to block his sister’s strike. She twisted Impetus, flinging Undertow into the ground and smashing into Caspian with her shield. Rowan came in from the side as Caspian rolled across the ground. She blocked his overhead swing with her shield, then channeled her semblance into Impetus as she thrust forward.

Rowan was flung back as well, but during his distraction Caspian shot at a pipe on the ceiling. His shot connected and its target burst, drenching Lazula and spraying a puddle across the floor. His sister looked furious.

“Lilly!” Caspian called.

The faunus paused for a second, but apparently caught on. She opened Elysian Bloom and lifted it, raising dozens of icy spikes from the floor. As the spikes honed in on Lazula, more began to encase her in their frigid embrace, but she thrashed them from her body with sword and shield. 

A spire of ice stabbed her from the back, eliciting a pained grimace. She whipped around, shattering it with her shield more out of irritation than necessity. 

“If I have to claim a weakness, it’s dust,” Lazula commented. She stabbed the ice at her boot, freeing it. “I’m sorry, Lilly. But I’ll have to take you out first.”

Lilly smiled. “I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to be on the business end of your blade,” she admitted.

Caspian pushed himself to his feet. Now was his chance. If he could just step in between the two, block Lazula’s attack to protect Lilly, and provide her enough time to attack again...

Yes. Perfect.

Caspian sprinted forward. As Lilly opened Elysian Bloom’s cover to protect herself, Caspian took the brunt of the impact into his armguard. Despite his armor, the crushing weight of his sister’s swing was excruciating. He bent over, holding his arm and giving up on a follow-up strike. Lazula pushed him aside, swinging on Lilly. 

Lilly struggled to keep up with Lazula’s power and speed. Each swipe of her rapier was forced back, and her parries suffered under Lazula’s blade until Rowan intervened. His semblance-enhanced blow was bounced back by Lazula’s own semblance and shield. She struck once as he fell back, knocking him away and turning to Caspian. They clashed steel several times before Caspian was kicked to his back, and Lazula honed in on Lilly once more.

The faunus yelped with pain as Impetus clipped her arm at the end of a failed block, and was smashed once more by Aegis. Lazula’s eyes narrowed as she prepared another strike, and she raised Aegis behind her head. The ring of violently clashing steel assaulted her ears, and she stepped toward Lilly with the force of Rowan’s blocked attack behind her swing.

“Lilly!” Caspian shouted, wincing as he watched her tumble across the ground and slam into the wall. With a breath to compose himself, he charged in again. Lazula traded with he and Rowan for several seconds, her sword and shield more than enough for the pair of opposing blades. Caspian stuck forward, but his blade was twisted until it locked with her crossguard. Lazula held Rowan’s attack at the top of her shield, managing to wedge his blade between the spikes adorning it. 

She whipped her head around, eyes breaking their steely focus. Caspian realized he had hardly ever seen the look before.

Genuine concern.

“Lilly!” she called. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hit so hard!”

The faunus staggered to her feet, feathered hair falling out of its ponytail. “I’m fine,” she managed, mustering up a weak smile. “My aura held, but just barely.”

Lazula nodded. With a vicious spin, she flung Caspian and Rowan to the ground. Eyes flicking between the two of them, she opted to eliminate the redhead next. She jumped, bearing down on him with Impetus as she blocked the dust bullets raining in from the side. 

Rowan managed to block her stab with the flat of his blade, and pushed out as Caspian slashed from behind. Whatever she did next was too fast for Caspian’s eyes. He saw her ducking under his attack; to be expected of the “Indomitable Girl.” Somehow, he was lifted off his feet and launched over Rowan before landing painfully on shoulder and head.

When he came to, a red X displayed from Rowan’s Holoband, and Impetus was raised to the final position of a strike.

Caspian staggered to his feet, gasping for breath and mulling over the battle. Lazula had been hit by Lilly’s ice, but aside from a single spare swipe from Undertow, she hadn’t been touched since. His eyes flicked down to his aura. Just under half. Without a doubt, Lazula was still near full. 

Knowing there was a near-zero chance of victory, Caspian dashed forward. His strike was parried easily, and met with a shield bash, then a spinning slash, which he narrowly deflected. He blocked two more before realizing just how little effort his sister put in. Caspian put his all behind each block, and each desperate swing. Lazula’s face lacked its signature scowl, and her attacks, though retaining their speed and peerless form, carried little urgency.

“Have you been practicing?” Lazula questioned. She knocked Caspian’s attack to the side and met him a shoulder to the chest “Your form is getting sloppy again.”

His heart began to pound, and his grip on Undertow slipped with sweat. “I-I haven’t been able to practice  _ much _ , no...”

“Hm.”

Undertow clashed against the middle of Aegis. Lazula lowered herself and twisted, swinging Impetus with the force of a Deathstalker’s claw. 

Caspian couldn’t free his weapon in time, and joined Rowan on the floor.

Lazula looked him over. No concern. No pity, at least. She sheathed Impetus, and grabbed the flag. 

* * *

“Still can’t believe you three let her win,” Noxis growled as soon as Team CRLN opened the door to their living space in Cedar. “It was three on one, and you managed to blow it.”

“We held her off pretty damn long, considering who she is,” Rowan protested. “If you had stayed, we might have had a chance.”

“Had one of you come with me, we would have rolled over her team,” Noxis argued. “The only one I actually had to try against was that one creepy girl.”

“Snow is _not_ creepy!” Caspian objected. 

“You knew who I was talking about.”

Lilly sighed. “I understand you’re upset--”

“You don’t understand shit.”

“...If any of us had come with you, the flag would not have been defended as strongly,” she continued. “Lazula likely would have reached the flag in less time, and won.”

Caspian nodded in agreement. “I think... we really just got unlucky. Any team that went against Lazula would have lost.”

Noxis laughed. “Big talk for a team leader! Love the confidence!”

“W-We aren’t strong enough to beat her...”

“ _ You  _ aren’t strong enough.”

Noxis’s words struck Caspian harder than Lazula’s blade. He balled his quivering hand into a fist, but all responses that formed in his viciously buzzing mind were washed away by one simple idea.

Noxis was right.

“And I want to prove it,” Noxis continued. “Duel me. One on one, safety parameters at ten percent.” He stepped closer to Caspian, pinning him in front of the wall and towering over him. He grinned. “Unless you’re too nervous, of course.”

Caspian’s gaze was fixed on the ground. He could feel the malicious excitement radiating off Noxis’s chest in waves. He was close. Way too close. Caspian felt queasy, short of breath, and trapped, wanting nothing more than to push Noxis off him and run. 

Away from him. 

Away from Sentinel.

“I... I’ll do it,” Caspian managed. He felt Noxis clasp his shoulder, and grimaced against his vice grip.

“Good. I look forward to it.”

Apparently satisfied, Noxis turned, unlocked the door to his room, and entered. Letting out a deep breath, Caspian sat at the table in the common area between the four rooms. He looked at the view of campus, Sentinel Stadium, and Port Cyrreine further in the distance. He couldn’t bear to look at the sparring courts lined up along the water, and curled up to hold his head in his hands.

“ _ What the hell have I gotten myself into? _ ”


	12. Inferiority Complex

“ _ Why are there so many people here? _ ”

The seats of the practice arena were almost full. It wasn’t as big as Sentinel Stadium, sure. But the students packed into the handful of rows circling the arena were more than enough to put Caspian on edge. Why were there spectator stands in the  _ practice _ arena, anyway? 

Most of his friends, Caspian knew, were watching. Lazula had probably made time after training to watch the show, just to point out every little mistake the next time she saw him. Lilly, luckily, was busy. Whatever she had gone to do with Aspen seemed important. Caspian didn’t mind, as long as it meant she wasn’t watching. Then of course, Noxis. 

“This is an official duel between Team CRLN’s leader, Caspian Skye, and challenger, Noxis Orion!” the officiator announced. A wave of applause rolled over the crowd, and subsided. “Safety parameters for this match have been set at ten percent. The first combatant to decrease their enemy’s aura level to the safety parameter, or the combatant with highest aura level after five minutes, will be declared winner.” He turned to Noxis, then to Caspian. “Are you ready?”

“Oh, yeah,” Noxis confirmed.

“...Yeah,” Caspian managed.

The announcer pinched his Holoscreen, and flipped it up to the metal workings suspended from the ceiling. Caspian and Noxis’s pictures and aura levels displayed to all in the stadium. “The match will begin after a ten second countdown.”

Caspian looked to the weapon in his hand, trying to tune out the premature hoots and cheers rising from the crowd. The metal workings of his gun twisted into place, until “Undertow” glowed just above the trigger. He held it at his side. If he held down the trigger a bit, Undertow’s loaded shot could shoot straight at quite some distance-- easily to the other end of the court. 

At the tone, Caspian ran.

He fired a handful of shots before making it to the edge of the arena, and began to run in a wide arc around his opponent, firing off more. Noxis initially pursued, but stopped after a couple of shots made contact. He squared his shoulders, swinging at each shot as they flashed toward him.

“So, you even fight like a coward?” Noxis taunted, face taking on a potent mixture of anger and excitement. “Get over here!”

Caspian pulled back his shot as his finger began to tug on Undertow’s trigger. He started with fear, realizing Noxis was rapidly closing in on him. By the time Undertow had transformed back into a cutlass, Noxis was on him, bearing down with Renegade.

Wind whipped through Caspian’s hair as the blunt edge of Noxis’s weapon careened by. Caspian spun on the balls of his feet and lashed out, but his strike was stonewalled by Noxis, who pushed back and swung. Caspian’s vision cut out for a split second as the bat smashed into his forehead. He yelped in pain and staggered back, before feeling a second strike to the gut. Agony radiated through his body, clutching at his chest with a searing hand every time he dared try breathing. Somehow, he still stood. Unable to see through his teary vision, Caspian swung Undertow feebly.

He felt Renegade’s handle smash the back of his head, and his knees finally gave out.

Caspian could see Noxis’s boots standing half a foot from his head. The tip of Renegade rested on the ground next to them. Slowly, Caspian’s breath came back to him. He flicked his Holoband on next to his head. His aura still held at fourteen percent. “ _ Ten percent safety parameters, huh? _ ” He thought. “ _ Not a big fan _ .”

“Get up,” Noxis demanded. “I’m not done with you.”

Caspian’s arms shook, and his muscles felt as though they threatened to tear. One foot caught hold, then the other. Still sputtering for breath, head bruised in two places and ravaged by a pungent, dull ache that travelled down to his stomach, he pushed himself upright.

Noxis waited for Caspian to right himself. Then, he swung.

Caspian lashed out with Undertow, but couldn’t match Noxis’s force. With blade and chestplate, Caspian barely managed to block the blow. He freed his weapon and slashed twice, finally landing a hit. In his moment of victory, Noxis swung again and Caspian was dropped to the floor by another bash to the head.

All the lights in the arena flashed on. Gods, they were bright. The crowd began to cheer.

“Caspian Skye’s aura has dropped below the safety parameter,” the officiator announced. “Challenger Noxis Orion is victorious!”

“ _ Of course he is _ ,” Caspian thought. “ _ I was lucky to get one hit in.”  _ Noxis still stood over him. “ _ Is he helping me up? Maybe he’s satisfied...”  _ He raised his chin, glancing up to the wolf.

Renegade was raised to the side. Before Caspian could realize what was happening, a backhanded swing slammed into his cheek. Caspian shouted in pain as the bat crashed into his face with a crack. Waves of blue sparked around his body as he curled up. The audience gasped, then was quiet out of shock. 

“ **NOXIS ORION.** ”

His sister’s voice.

Caspian looked up, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light. There was no need. All had been turned to Lazula, who strode down the rows of spectator seats with cape billowing behind her. The golden accents of her armor took on a shimmering splendor, threatening to blind the gawking onlookers to each side.

Noxis turned, wearing an ecstatic grin and a half-crazed look in his eyes. “Well look who’s come down from her fucking pedestal!” he shouted in glee. He held one arm in front of his chest and one behind him, addressing Lazula with an exaggerated bow. “To what do I owe this honor?!”

“You have every right to challenge my brother, and every right to defeat him,” Lazula asserted. “But to strike after you’ve already won isn’t something I can so easily forgive.”

“Come on! I’ll take you right now!” Noxis welcomed. He planted a boot on the kneeling Caspian’s back. “Your baby brother made a damn good warm up!”

“You speak when I tell you to,” Lazula snapped. “Same time tomorrow, Sentinel Stadium. She raised her gaze, sweeping her arm across the stands. “All of you are invited! Bring your friends and family!" her glare once again fixed on Noxis. “You may be strong, but it’s time someone showed you just how far it is to the top.”

The stands broke out into deafening cheer. How this many people could make that much noise, Caspian had no idea. Noxis’s boot pushed him back to the concrete, and he slung Renegade over his shoulder. “I’ll be waiting.”

* * *

Word of a “grudge match” between the celebrity Lazula Skye and another first year spread quickly, throughout campus and into the city of Port Cyrreine. Just about every student from Sentinel filled the stands, by Caspian’s estimate. The student section was full, as were the first several rows lining the arena. The stadium was nowhere near capacity, sure. But it was built to house the Vytal Tournament, and all the thousands who would inevitably flood campus once it came around again. 

“Man, I’m ready to see Noxis get destroyed!” Rowan revelled.

“I know Lazula’s strong, but Noxis is too,” Ichigo reminded. “It might not be as one-sided as you would expect.”

Laurel shrugged. “He beat me, too. That semblance of his is... kind of ridiculous.”

“Awakened, right?” Rowan replied. “Didn’t Lilly’s mom have the same one?” he looked to the side. “Also, where is Lilly?”

“I thought one of you guys knew,” Ichigo responded.

“She hasn’t answered any of the times we’ve knocked at her door, I’m not even sure if she’s there,” Caspian commented.

“I tried to message her earlier, haven’t heard anything back,” Laurel added. “And it’s odd for her to miss one of Lazula’s matches. I hope she’s alright...”

Caspian opened his Holoscreen, checking Lilly’s aura for what must have been the twentieth time. “Her aura’s still full, so nothing too bad could have happened to her...”

The lights dimmed. A brunette woman in expensive-looking clothing stepped between the two. She ran through the usual pre-duel monologue in a flat, almost bored voice contrary to the crowd’s excited chatter. Finally, she turned to both combatants. “When both parties are ready, the match will begin after a ten-second countdown.”

Lazula nodded, and began to pull Impetus from its sheath. She looked down to it, then to Noxis, who held bat over his shoulder and cocked his head back in an attempt to intimidate her. 

“ _ I don’t think I’ll need this, _ ” Lazula assessed, sliding Impetus back into its sheath.

The tone blared, and Noxis charged toward her. Lazula strode forward with Aegis at her side. Gods, it would feel good to wipe that damned smile off his face.

Lazula raised Aegis into Noxis’s ferocious swing, stepping forward and activating the full extent of her semblance at the moment of impact. A vigorous surge of raw energy coursed through Lazula’s body and released through her arm. Renegade was flung back into its owner, the power behind Noxis’s swing getting blocked, added to Aegis, and multiplied countless times over. 

The air around the collision was deceptively still for a second, before bursting forth with wanton fury. The audience screamed in a mixture of cheer and terror as the winds crashed into the hard-light barrier, lighting it up from floor to ceiling and shaking the entire stadium with their roaring force. Noxis was flung back, flying for what must have been twenty feet before smashing into the ground the first time. He bounced and continued to roll back as he attempted to gain footing against the gust, to no avail.

“What was _ that _ ?” Rowan shouted, grasping his seat and leaning forward with eyes wide open in awe.

“Lazula holds back most of the time,” Caspian noted. “ _ This  _ is the full extent of her semblance.”

When the winds finally began to settle, Noxis was on all fours. Lazula smirked with satisfaction, seeing the grin on his face replaced with a wide eyed stare as his hair broke from its tie. She continued forward at a brisk walk, still keeping Impetus in its sheath.

Noxis grasped Renegade’s handle, which he had miraculously managed to keep. He lunged forward, swinging at Lazula’s ankle. She took the attack into her boot with gritted teeth, transferring its force into her other leg and whipping him across the jaw with a brutal kick that sent him rolling once more. 

He put a hand behind his head, and adjusted his neck. He began to get up, eyeing his opponent.

“ _ What the hell is _ **_that_ ** _ grin for, now? _ ” Lazula questioned. 

She shielded her eyes against a violent burst of fog that expanded from Noxis like a cold explosion to obscure the area. “ _ This must be what Laurel warned me about _ ,” Lazula recalled. She was surprised the faunus still had enough aura to spare after the two hits, but gazed into the mist. There, in the center. Two red eyes near the ground. Lazula trudged forward. The crimson glow flashed, and sprung at her.

Lazula punched through the murk to slam Aegis down on Noxis’s head. The shield rang with triumphant vibrato. He fell limp across the floor, all traces of his semblance fading away with the mist.

Lazula stepped over him on her way to the exit. She paused, looking down at Noxis. He was on his stomach, just beginning to stir. He held a hand to his head, pinching his eyes shut.

“Don’t ever try a little stunt like that again,” Lazula growled. “I  _ will _ find out.”

* * *

“So, you were in the infirmary for quite a while!” Rowan teased. “You got a concussion, or what?”

“Piss off,” Noxis retorted. The door to Team CRLN’s common area closed behind him and he continued to his room. He paused after opening his door, pointing to Caspian. “I’m surprised  _ he _ managed to stay conscious yesterday.”

“Lazula didn’t even unsheath her sword, dude!” Rowan goaded. 

Caspian snorted, the sip of water he had just taken to avoid responding to Noxis threatening to slip out. 

Noxis cocked his head, and approached the table. He slapped both hands down next to Caspian, causing him to start. “I know  _ you _ aren’t laughing. Right?”

Caspian was silent, rotating his glass back and forth between finger and thumb on the table in front of him.

Noxis huffed in amusement. “Lazula beat me pretty badly, true.”

Caspian winced as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “But you? You could barely touch me, even without my semblance. Hell, even without my gun.” He leaned in. “How about some simple logic? If I beat you with no more than a scratch, while pulling my punches if anything, and Lazula beat me using only her shield, what does that say about you?”

Caspian swallowed hard, though he found it difficult. He felt his hands beginning to tremble. Why. Why did they  _ always  _ tremble the  _ moment _ someone challenged him? Why could his heart be seen beating out of his chest? 

It always happened, and he had always despised it.

Noxis pulled back, apparently satisfied. 

“It’s almost sad, the difference between you two!”


End file.
